Against A Brick Wall
by Chain Mell
Summary: It's senior year at Midgar High and Cloud's been hiding something from Zack. However, Zack seems to be hiding something much bigger than Cloud can imagine... CLACK!...eventually.
1. Chapter 1

"Cloud~!" I turned around, only to be attacked by a bear hug as vicious as a butterfly but with the force of an overgrown dog.

That's Yuffie, alright. We had been the best of friends since she'd come to live with us as a foreign exchange student. She'd been swapped for Tifa, who went to go to Wutai. Surprisingly enough when Tifa wrote back, I'd found out that Yuffie was a princess.

Imagine that.

"Hello to you, too Yuffie," I greeted much more sedately.

"Hey, leave some for me, will ya?" I looked over Yuffie's head and my smile grew a bit wider. Zack Fair had been the best friend anyone could want for the past five years of my life. We'd met in the eighth grade when he'd rescued me from the senior football team in the hallway on my first day. It was nowhere near fun, I tell you. And ever since then, we'd been stuck together like paint on a wall.

Yuffie giggled and moved an arm that was wound around me to invite Zack into a group hug. I looked at him and rolled my eyes. Of course, being Zack, he'd do something so childish in the twelfth grade. No wonder Yuffie liked him so much. Then again it was the beginning of our last year in high school so I allowed it.

Not that they'd let me refuse in the first place.

"The beginning of the end!" Yuffie breathed dramatically as we all made our way to the stairs leading to the school's rooftop. Zack shoved open the heavy metal door and we stepped outside. Waiting there was the rest of the crew: Tifa, Cid, Vincent, Jessie, Reno and Cissnei.

"Hey there, Spiky!" came Reno's chipper tone. He and Zack were a lot alike and besides me, I guess that was his best friend as well. Reno walked over and hefted me off my feet, proving how light I really was, spinning around and making me dizzy. He put me down rather quickly, well aware of my acute motion sickness.

"How's my favorite bitch?" He grinned. I rolled my eyes skyward before shaking my head at him.

"I'm no one's bitch, Reno."

"Oh contraire," he raised a dark eyebrow with a smirk before he grabbed Zack's hand and pulled him in for a 'man hug'.

"Oh, come off it, Reds," Cid, grunted before his face broke out into a wide grin. "At least let Spiky there have his fun until his ass gets reamed."

The others all laughed lightly. I sighed and gave up. Let's get one thing straight here: I'm just small for my age, okay? Alright, so being five feet nine isn't the best height in the world for a seventeen year old. Neither is being pretty to the point of _almost _being mistaken for a girl with angular features. But I learned to deal.

Zack ruffled my hair, something that earned him a glare for every time. "Hey, you know I've got your back," he said, raising his hands in mock-surrender at my heated gaze.

"In more ways than one," Cissnei snorted.

They're all corrupted, I tell you.

We barely had any classes together this year as seniors. We don't even have the same homeroom as the girls. They all went into the business classes, while we guys took all the technical shit. Zack, Reno, Vincent and I were in Geography together, as well as Math, Combined Science and Auto Mechanics. Cid, Vincent and Zack had Literature, English and History. Me, having bad memory, was in the second stream for History. Wasn't so bad.

Less combined teasing from Zack and Reno.

We were still in homeroom, everyone chatting idly. Zack sat on my desk, Cid on the floor between my and Vincent's seats, Reno on Vincent's desk. I had tuned the others out, focusing on my own thoughts when three new faces glided through the door. They had to have been brothers, since all of them had this silver hair. Two of them I had nearly mistaken for girls had they not been wearing uniform. The other was as manly as they could get, with his biker cut and thick sideburns.

"Who the hell are they?" Cid asked around a toothpick (he likes to call it a trademark of sorts). He spoke low as the rest of the class quieted down to speculate and stare.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Zack stiffen, almost as if fighting to keep his normally relaxed-bordering-on-lazy posture. I flicked my gaze toward the silver haired trio before snapping my attention to a soft hiss that came from Reno.

"Bad news, is what they are," he said, normally jovial features flattened into a frown.

"You know 'em?"

"No."

I looked to Vincent, who seemed to be bored with the whole thing but I knew better. He sent furtive glances between Zack and Reno before looking toward the front of the class at the new kids. I looked to Zack for a moment, feeling the tension rolling off him in waves. I'd never seen him this high-strung before the time when Reno had gone missing three years ago.

"Zack?" I all but whispered. He finally blinked, but still didn't respond. My eyes flashed toward the trio, and I saw one of them, the one with short hair that hung in one of his eyes, looking directly at him. The look sent a cold beeline down my spine and pooled at the small of my back.

Mr. Jackson walked in shortly after and clapped his hands once. "Alright, class. These are our new students." He turned to them. "Why don't you introduce yourselves?"

The boy with the thick sideburns spoke first. "Loz."

Next to him, in the middle, was the one who could really pass for a girl if not looked at properly. "Yazoo."

And finally, the one who gave me a bad feeling. "Kadaj."

I looked over at Zack, just in time to see his eyes flash with something. It was so foreign that I couldn't recognize him for a moment or two. There was something there, something that I never thought I'd ever see in them for an entire lifetime; something that I thought never tried to enter those mischief-bright blue eyes.

Hate. Pure, unadulterated hate.

Zack had been uncharacteristically quiet all day after that; he and Reno seemed to band much closer together. I'd left it well enough alone, knowing that I'd be useless at this point. After all, he and Reno were friends long before I came into the picture. So whatever it was, Reno was able to handle it.

Hopefully.

"What's up with Porcupine?" Yuffie asked me during lunch. She might have been a wild soul but she was observant as well - when she chose to be, anyway. "I'd never seen him this…down before."

"I don't know," I answered truthfully. "He got like this after homeroom."

"Oh!" she exclaimed. "Have you met the Jenova Triplets?"

A.D.D. has no sense of timing whatsoever.

I thought about her question and thought back to homeroom. Oh yeah, I met them alright. So I nodded.

"I hear two of them are gorgeous and pretty while the other's just handsome beyond belief," she gushed, eyes going unfocused as she most likely fantasized. "Is is true?"

I flattened her with a look. "Do I _look_ like I'd notice all of that?"

Which is sad, because I did.

It was her turn to look at me flatly. "Well, you _did_ notice Zack and he's a pie."

I sighed. Yuffie was the only one I revealed my…thoughts…about Zack to. I set my can of soda on the table and stared at it listlessly. I knew it was close to impossible to get to him. I mean, look at him. He's a chick magnet: sex on legs with the body as manly as man could get. And a welcoming personality to top it off.

A deadly combination, I tell you.

"Look, Cloud," Yuffie placed a hand on mine that was wrapped around the can. "You can't just keep it in forever. He's going to find out sooner or later."

"Yeah, well I can damn well try to," I felt the corners of my mouth fall below their proper placement. "I'd kept it to myself for five years, I can manage one more."

"Are you really going to cut him off after graduation?"

I sighed. I really didn't want to. But if it kept me sane and made it a less painful way to lose a fiercely treasured friendship, then so be it. I guess the determination showed on my face because I saw Yuffie shake her head sadly. I kissed my teeth and downed the rest of my soda. Today had been rough enough with Zack disappearing after classes with Reno doing who knows what.

With that, I stood and tossed my trash where it belonged and made up my mind to call him later tonight. My last year with him, I'll make the most of it: I'll return the favor of being there for him like he'd been there for me.

_Fat load of good you're doing now, shit head._

I mentally kicked my inner voice in the ass.

**A/N: My first ever FFVII fanfic. Hopefully it didn't stink to the high heavens. I'm a better writer than this, honest! If you'd read any of my other fics (obviously not final fantasy) then you'd see. I just need to get used to writing about these characters. Then I'm good to go.**


	2. Chapter 2

I lay in bed late that night, unable to get to sleep. I was worried about Zack, of course. He hadn't answered his phone: house nor cell. So I'd left him a text message. I hadn't been able to catch up with him after school since he and Reno left earlier than usual. Scratch that.

They skipped last period.

Sure, he'd skipped classes before. Hell he even got me to do it a few times, too. But he had been acting odd since the triplets got here. Did he know them? Reno denied knowledge of them and whoever Reno knew, Zack knew.

So what…?

With a sigh, I shifted for the umpteenth time, trying to find a position comfortable enough to fall asleep in. I looked at my alarm clock to see that it was three in the morning. Shit. And I had a test tomorrow.

I know. A test on the second day at school?

I couldn't afford to fail the first test. Besides, I was a whiz at math on a good day. But that's when my mind is clear. I've been known to screw up when I'm either upset, worried or just plain angry. And depending on the severity, is how bad I'd fail.

God, I need to calm down. I rolled over _again_ and took my phone from beneath my pillow. Still no message. Of course there wouldn't be one since I'd feel the thing vibrate before it would sing 'Water' to me. I sighed again.

No rest for the weary.

The following morning I was sluggish and a little hungry. I couldn't eat because my mind wasn't on it. And I'm a weird kid who, if I don't eat at least one out of the three meals a day, would pass out. It happened once before when I'd worried so much about Zack when he went ballistic during Reno's disappearance. He'd gotten quiet and barely spoke to me. Half the time he'd just up and walk out on me whenever I spoke to him.

I ate once a day for an entire week, thanks to Yuffie who actually looked out for me. Don't get me wrong, the others cared, too. But we were all focused on Zack at the moment.

Anyhow, I left the house, noting absently that mom hadn't come back home yet. She had a job that required a lot of travel and she'd email me whenever she had the chance, phone calls dominated by clients and the like. But I still loved her. We kept contact whenever we got the chance.

I yawned and ran a finger over my right eye as I waited for the bus. Man, I just knew today was going to suck. I hopped on board when it stopped, finding an empty seat unerringly. I plopped down and spent the entire ride staring blindly out the window.

I closed my locker with a little less than the bang it required, sighing tiredly. I felt something in my stomach move. My best guess that it was yelling at me for neglecting it. But I needed to get to homeroom and get fifteen minutes of studying in before I failed. I hadn't touched any of the homework we'd gotten the day before, either. Thankfully, both of those classes were later in the afternoon.

I weaved through the crowd, unconsciously scanning for either Zack or Reno, knowing that I'd find the other if I see just one. I felt a small pang of …something at the thought. I guess I was a little wounded that I wasn't the only one Zack had come to trust. But it was expected. They'd known each other far longer than five years, after all.

Walking through door number four-seventeen, I made toward my seat by sheer memory, my nose buried deep into my math book. I'm no nerd, to clear this up. I'm just not into mom killing me over the subject. She's a genius at it and taught me herself.

I sighed in order to stifle a yawn, flipping the page.

"Cloud Strife?" a vaguely familiar voice brought my focus out of my drowsy single-minded task. I blinked, owlishly I expect, and looked up to meet a single jade eye. It was one of the triplets, Kadaj, I believe. His voice was almost weird, like borderline alto and tenor.

"Yes?" I answered, becoming a little more awake. The Jenova brother sat in the seat in front of me - Zack's- and twisted to face me.

"Mr. Rollins told me to come to you to get me up to speed for class today."

Mr. Rollins? Oh, right. My new math teacher. Wait, he did?

"He did?" I parroted my mind, slowly lowering my book. "Well where did you stop last year?"

He seemed almost taken aback, as if not expecting something. "We stopped at similarities."

I whistled. They were pretty behind if that was the case. But not so much where I couldn't get them to match the average math student in my class.

"Well, since you're probably not going to have to do any work," I mused aloud. "I'll meet you at lunch under the oak tree, yeah?"

"Sounds like a plan," he smiled sweetly before moving to leave. He froze for a moment before his smile widened and turned almost sickly sweet. I followed his gaze and felt my heart try to shrink in size. Zack had the most murderous look in his eye I'd seen since I'd met him. Reno was beside him, face austere. I looked from them to Kadaj before glimpsing Yazoo and Loz in a corner, looking in our direction.

Kadaj looked to me as he stood. "See you at lunch?"

I saw Zack's fists clench and a muscle flex in his jaw, glare unwavering. I looked back to Kadaj and nodded dumbly. "S-sure."

The silver haired teenager left to join his brothers, flirting shamelessly with the girls. To say I felt more than awake at that moment was an understatement. Zack's scowl followed the other before turning to focus it on me. Reno's original frown only deepened.

Let me say that when both of them are less than happy, things get quite ugly.

I felt my eyes widen and my face grew cold. I paled, I'm sure because my heart couldn't decide whether to beat or not.

Reno let his face relax a minute, I noted absently, unconsciously trying to find a way around Zack without moving my gaze from his for fear of… something.

"Relax, man," Reno said softly, searching my face maybe to see if I'd shit a brick or something.

I couldn't tell if he meant me, but even if it was, my body wouldn't co-operate. I watched as Zack seemed to do just that, glare softening marginally. Not like it did wonders for my blood pressure. It wasn't good to run on adrenaline and an empty stomach.

The bell for class rang and Zack turned heel and walked out of class for Math. I looked to Reno, who had turned his attention to the triplets, before following suit.

I more or less floated through math and the next class, doing homework in between class work questions. My wrist and brain were working overtime and I knew it. It didn't help that I had an essay to write AND a three paragraphed description of something I can't even recall at the moment.

When lunch whirled around I nearly smacked myself with a groan. I had to tutor the triplets.

There went lunch.

"So whenever you get a problem like that," I said, making sure that all three of them saw what I was doing. "You always work out what's in the brackets and then solve the entire equation."

Mom had taught me that rule.

I suddenly felt eyes on me from somewhere other than the triplets. I looked up and quickly scanned the area. For all I knew those eyes could have been jealous fan girls. Believe me, I've had my share of run-ins with that species of girl. It's not pretty.

Finally I met a pair of hardened blue eyes. My skin grew cold again.

Zack.

I'm telling you. I may have fallen for the guy, but he was really starting to worry me.

"Cloud?" Yazoo's voice cut through my daze.

"Right."

Final period found me in History class and I was less than happy. It had nothing to do with the class, although not this time. I just felt light headed and the noise of all the students around me speaking at once upset my ability to focus. I shook my head, and took a deep breath to steady myself. I just had to make it to dinner and I'm good until morning.

Reality just didn't look real.

So when the bell rang, I high tailed it out of there. But I couldn't leave without talking to Zack. He still hadn't answered my message and possibly refused my calls for some strange reason. The thing is, I don't know if he and Reno had skipped like yesterday.

"Cloud~!"

Man, not now, Yuffie!

I was attacked and thrown off balance quite badly. If it weren't for Yuffie, I probably would have fallen over.

She looked at me and frowned slightly. "I hadn't seen you all day."

"I had to study, do homework and tutor," I replied, giving her a concise recount. I really needed to find Zack.

"Homework got its name for a reason, you know," she said. "And who'd you tutor?"

"Look, can we talk about this later? I need to find Zack," I looked around, using all my mental capability to focus. "By the way, have you seen him or Reno?"

She shook her head. "Ask Cid or Vincent. I left them at the fountain."

And to the school fountain I went.

Cid sat there with Cissnei by his side, Tifa sitting next to her and Vincent stood with his arms folded. Jessie probably went home already.

"Hey, Spikes!" Cid greeted. I nodded, not wanting to entertain any long conversation.

"Have any of you seen Zack?"

They all looked at each other and frowned.

"He didn't show up for History." Vincent spoke up. "Neither did Reno."

Dammit. I looked around and grumbled beneath my breath. Where the hell could he have gone.

"Call him," Tifa suggested.

"He won't answer," I countered without missing a beat.

"Text?" Cissnei volunteered.

"No reply."

"Did you do something to him?" Cid looked up at me, head tilted to the side as he chewed on his toothpick.

I shrugged hopelessly, sure my confusion showed on my face. "I don't know. He just glared at me this morning and walked off."

I was ready to pull my hair out by now. I was confused.

"Where the hell are you, Zack?" I hissed. I turned and stalked off, mumbling a quick good-bye to the others before tugging out my phone. Still no reply. So I sent another while thinking of all the places he might have gone.

I stopped walking to just breathe. I needed to do something so I could focus. But worrying messes around with my appetite. And I can't force myself to eat (last few times I tried, I threw up). I looked left and right, deciding that I would just go home and sleep. I took only one step in that direction when something at the back of my mind told me to go to Reno's instead. I don't know why but I learned early in life that trusting a gut feeling is better than the obvious alternative.

So I changed course and walked leisurely. Reno didn't live too far from the school, only five blocks actually. It's a stretch but I could do it. During the walk, I felt strangely… watched as soon as I got within three blocks of his place. It made my blood rush and my pace falter every few steps. At that, I decided to double my efforts to get out of sight as soon as possible.

Finally, I stopped in front of a blue house with a metal roof, leaning against one of the support beams on the porch. I was out of breath and it was nearly five in the afternoon. They'd better have something to eat in there.

I raised my hand to knock when the door opened seemingly on is own accord. Standing on the inside was a tall dark man, neatly shaven, shirtless and smelling strongly of soap.

"Rude…" I said. Don't get me wrong, his _name_ was Rude. Well… Anyway you get the idea.

"Cloud," he acknowledged in that creepy way that makes it seem like he had been expecting me. He stepped back to let me in and closed the door. "You shouldn't be walking around these parts alone."

I raised an eyebrow as I took a seat on the couch. I admit, I felt like I was being watched but what's out there to be afraid of?

Rude must have read my thoughts.

"These streets are empty for a reason," he stated vaguely. He turned around and headed for the kitchen. "Want anything?"

"What do you got?"

"The quickest thing here is a bag of chips," he called back.

"I'll take it." I didn't give a damn. I needed to eat before I lost consciousness in the middle of Reno's living room. That wouldn't bode well, now would it?

"So where's Reno?"

"He's not here."

No shit.

"Heard from him?"

"…No. Why?"

"Didn't show up last period for class."

Rude was someone who could always keep Reno in line, so telling him these things was something I didn't have to beat around the bush with.

"I take it Zack's with him."

I looked up from my bag of Doritos in surprise. "How'd you know?"

"You wouldn't give a damn otherwise."

"You make me sound like such a bastard." But he had a point.

Rude shrugged and went down the hall to get ready for whatever it was he was going to. I felt a lot better after that awesome snack. My eyes were able to focus a bit better, too.

Minutes later, Rude came out, sharp as a knife in a black suit and tie with a pair of shades on. I felt my eyebrows climb up into my hairline.

"Who's the girl?" I couldn't help but ask.

He shook his head and spared a smirk. "Let's go, kid."

Huh?

Before I knew it I was on a familiar road. The bastard was taking me home. Then again, I couldn't exactly stay there all day. It was nearly seven o'clock.

"I'll let Reno know you were looking for Zack," he told me, before driving off. I watched the black sedan disappear around the corner before fishing for the house key.

Once inside, trudged up the stairs to my room and flopped on to my bed. I was tired, and there was no way I could function like this. I looked at my phone one last time, empty of messages and sighed explosively. I'll just have to try again tomorrow if I can't get to either of them.

With that I let my body take me into sleep, however uneasy it was.

I awoke suddenly, sitting up and sweating buckets in my uniform. My breaths were labored and I was shaking. When my eyes focused, fully bringing me out of my dream, I slouched over and ran a hand over my face. Their voices echoed through my mind.

"_You could have saved us, Cloud."_

"I know…dammit," I whispered.

"_It should have been you."_

_Fire, everywhere. So hot…Can't breathe…_

I gulped in a lungful of air as reality sucked me back in. My phone was ringing. I looked at my clock and groaned. It was three in the morning. I'll never get back to sleep. Another ring brought my attention back to my phone. I looked at the screen.

Yuffie…

"Why?" was the first thing out of my mouth. I thought it was a very legitimate question.

"Come to the hospital quick," she said, wasting no time. Her voice trembled a bit. "It's Reno."

**A/N: Whole damned six pages. I didn't know how to stop! And this is about as lame as the first one. I swear it gets better as I get deeper into the story. I. Do. Not. Suck. This. Bad.**

**But to clarify something in the last chapter: Yuffie and Tifa have, in fact, been switched for a foreign exhange program. Yuffie moved over afterward because she liked it there. So that pretty much explains their co-existence in these chapters. **

****

And Yuffie does NOT live with Cloud now. That is all.


	3. Chapter 3

I made it to the hospital within the hour, out of breath and holding onto the exterior wall for support. At least I had skates. If I didn't then I would have passed out for sure. I untied the shoelaces from behind my neck and switched my skates for sneakers. Holding them in my hand, I made my way inside toward the front desk.

"Is there a Reno admitted here recently?" I asked. She looked at me quizzically before checking the logs. I knew I looked like I'd gone through a wind tunnel, but then again that's how my hair always was.

"Room Three -two-seven."

I mumbled a thanks and headed straight for the elevator. When I got out, I turned left to see Rude and Zack sitting down, the latter with his head in his hands. Tifa had a hand on his shoulder for comfort and I went a little cold.

I hadn't been there. Again.

Yuffie, who was sitting in a chair opposite them, spotted me and came dashing over.

"What the hell happened?" I asked.

"Reno took a bullet to the shoulder." Yuffie led me to the chair she sat in and took a seat, looking up at me. "He lost too much blood, Cloud. They don't know if he could last the night."

Something squeezed my heart and I looked at both Rude and Zack. I couldn't tell Rude's expression since he still wore his glasses. Zack just looked… Defeated.

"Well don't they have a blood bank?" I asked, honestly perplexed.

"They don't have his blood type," Cid's voice came up from a corner of the waiting room I hadn't seen. "It's pretty fuckin' rare. B negative."

Oh. Is that all? "Well let's do this." My blood type was the same. At least if I need any blood I can count on Reno in the future.

Rude looked at me. "You have the same blood type?"

I know. I'm so weird that my blood type is rare as a red eyed person. Sorry Vincent. The good part is, I hadn't eaten all day so I was in the clear.

I nodded. "Who's the doctor here?" I looked to Zack who seemed to not be here at the moment. I felt my heart go out to the poor guy. It isn't easy to lose your best friend in any way, shape or form. Or a sister for that matter. But this time, there was a chance to save that person and I wouldn't ruin it for the world.

"You don't know how lucky we are that you came along, young man," the doctor said, slapping a band-aid on the inside of my elbow. "He'll be just fine once we get this into him. Now," he cleared his throat and stepped back. "You need to find something to eat or you'll pass out."

No, flipping, shit.

A small bag of white pills were thrust under my nose. "And take those to help keep you stable. Come back in a week and we'll check your progress."

"Thanks."

I took the pills and walked out, shoving them into my pocket. I heard the doctor's footsteps behind me for a while before they cut off and went into Reno's room, his voice telling me to let the others know that we could go home and rest easy.

I walked back in and found everyone looking at me anxiously. I was too tired to say anything at the moment so I summoned a weak smile. They all breathed a collective sigh of relief.

"Go home," I managed, and I made a beeline for the elevator. I had to be on time for school, after all. And my house is a beautiful twelve blocks away.

I reiterate: At least I had skates. We all clambered inside, Zack and Rude ending up in front as they were the last to come onboard. I leaned against the wall for support, using everything within myself not to slide to the floor. Suddenly, an almost inhuman sound gurgled through the elevator car.

Yuffie looked at me with a raised eyebrow, and everyone else followed suit. Hell, even Zack stepped out of his thoughts to fix me with a quizzical stare.

"Cloud," Yuffie began slowly. "What have you _not_ eaten?"

I looked down, what ever blood I had rushing to my cheeks. I couldn't lie to her on this one. The last time I tried, I passed out on the spot.

Stupid body.

"Breakfast, lunch and dinner," I listed. "Rude fed me, though," I added, to get my ass out of Yuffie's fire. Don't get me wrong. I love her to death as a sister, but when she turns into Mommy Yuffie, that's when it gets sour.

"A bag of chips?"

God dammit, Rude!

I met Yuffie's stern glare with a weak chuckle when the bell dinged.

"Look, I'll make breakfast soon as I get home, alright?" She eyed me a little longer before nodding her consent. I carefully avoided the stares we were both getting and left the elevator. As I past the front row, I felt a heavy hand on my shoulder. I would have buckled under the sheer force for weakness' sake if it weren't for my cat-like reflexes.

"Thanks," Rude's voice came from behind. I simply nodded, wanting to get out of there before my focus completely failed. I was already feeling light headed after that little stint and the loss of blood.

"How'd you get here, anyway?" Cid asked. I looked to the corner where I'd left my skates and pointed.

"And where, exactly, do you live?"

"Too damn far for skates," Rude answered before I could euphemize my way out of it.

"I agree," Yuffie stood before me and glared. "You know what would happen if you tried to make that trip, Cloud. Let Rude drive you home."

I took a chance and looked around at everyone who seemed curious as to what would happen if I did try.

"Fine," I sighed. I saw her eyes soften and cloud with worry. I'm the only one who would actually argue till kingdom come with Yuffie and still retain my sanity. I guess my lack of fire on the topic threw everyone for a loop.

"Well, come on," I said, desperately wanting to get away and walking toward the entrance. "We've all got school in a couple hours."

Which was true. It was seven in the morning.

I went the whole mornig without really making it. I had breakfast, like I promised myself. I may be frail and selfless but dammit, I'm not stupid. I felt marginally better, and popped a pill as per the doctor's orders. I'd gotten to school on time, but just barely caught the bus. I was still running on a severe lack of sleep and adrenaline withdrawal.

Which explained my near collapse when a hard body rammed into my back and two arms held me in place. I froze before I relaxed completely, the person's scent familiar.

Vanilla and cinnamon.

Zack.

I turned around and looked up at him (I hate being short) properly, taking a step back. May as well get it over with while I was still conscious.

"What's up with you, Zack?"

He looked at me, genuinely confused and concerned at the same time. I would be, too if I saw me. Concerned, I mean. It's not everyday I show up to school paler than an albino with only sheer willpower, breakfast, and a pill keeping me on my feet.

"What?"

I closed my eyes against the dizzy spell that overtook me. I chalked it up to the loss of blood last night. I didn't realize I needed help to stand up until I felt my hand grabbing onto Zack's jacket with a white-knuckled grip.

"What's with the sudden hostility? You wouldn't answer any of my calls neither respond to any of my texts. And what the hell were you and Reno doing, skipping last period and, apparently, getting shot at?"

He remained silent, a look of something I couldn't place written on his features. I used my free hand to rub a temple. My head was starting to ache. Probably would have been wise to stay home today.

"You've been avoiding me like the plague, Zack. At least let me know _something._"

I opened my eyes, not knowing when I'd closed them in the first place. Everything seemed so surreal, going in an out of focus. My legs felt like jelly; like they couldn't hold my weight much longer.

Shit.

I was pressed against that same solid chest that had barreled into me, Zack's voice rumbling through my cheek. What was he saying?

"I'll make it up to you, I promise. Okay?"

My entire body seemed to relax in his hold and I felt like I could drift away right then and there.

I immediately pushed against him, breaking free lest I do exactly that. I couldn't afford to look weak in front of Zack, of all people. I'd had enough of that for the past five years.

"Let me go," I mumbled, blinking my world back into focus. The loss of blood wasn't helping me at all. I would have been fine, otherwise.

"You okay?" I looked at Zack, almost fighting to keep my eyes open. His face was being blocked by something black every now and then.

"I'm fine." I never thought I'd see the day I actually wanted to get as far away from him as possible. "We'll finish this later, alright?"

And with that I left as fast as my barely working legs could carry me. I could afford to skip third period today: Geography. The guy teaches directly from the book, anyway. And besides, I need to find a place to pass out in peace. There was one place that came to mind immediately:

The roof.

The whole world turned hazy, only the path I wanted to walk remaining in focus long enough to guide me to those familiar stairs. Making it up there, I shoved the heavy door open with the last vestiges of my strength, and even then my body started to give out on me. Spots did the hula in front of my eyes and I saw rather than felt my body pitch forward.

I felt something beneath me, my body stopping suddenly. Next thing I knew I was staring with half open eyes at the blue sky. The earth moved and I was looking into a pair of blurry eyes, wide enough to look mostly white. I heard some weird garbling sound before everything fell away.

**A/N: Wow. That sucked.**


	4. Chapter 4

Fire. Everywhere. It's too hot. Can't breathe.

"You little shit!" his voice sneered at me. "You could go out of your way for some stupid kid and not even lift a finger to help your own family?"

"How could you, brother?"

"We thought you cared…"

Marlene… Denzel…F-father.

Hot… It burned.

They all screamed. Inhuman. Unmatched pain of boiling skin.

"It's your fault, Cloud! You did this to us!"

Hands reached out, grabbing…pulling…

Burning…

I bolted upright, head immediately between my knees as I struggled for breath, coughing and spluttering. I could still feel it all. It marched up and down my back, those burns. They were still there, like welts from a whip.

Marlene…her innocent and cherubic face… Denzel… a natural builder. All that talent…

Father…

Burning…boiling… charred bone… Lifeless eyes, boring into mine.

Oh, God.

I swallowed hard, negating my gag reflex. Instantly I felt warm; something wrapped around me, and a rumble came from said object. I struggled out of my muddled haze, trying to figure out what was going on.

"…shit out of me, Spiky!"

Who? What?

I opened my eyes to meet a gray shirt, pressed close to my nose and forehead. Knowledge and recognition were still far from reach. I pushed against whatever had me half smothered and it took a moment before I was allowed fresh air. I blinked back the blurry images and came face to face with familiar bluish gray eyes, its owner's forehead pressed close to mine.

Zack pulled back and searched my face for… something. "What the fuck happened?"

Zack Fair was a person who never cursed unless he was extremely upset, pissed off, or worried. What had him so high strung?

"Huh?" was the first intelligent thing out of my lips.

"I tried calling you but you either ignored me or couldn't hear me," he said. "I followed you up here and out of nowhere you just collapsed!"

Oh. Right.

Shit.

He saw.

Just then I felt a hand connect to my head rather unkindly. "Where the hell do you get off, Strife? Scaring the living shit out of us!"

I signed mentally. Yuffie.

"Didn't you eat this morning?" Zack stared intently at me, worry etched into his face.

I turned to Yuffie, my senses slow to stop me. "You told?"

"Told us what?" Tifa's voice sounded somewhere to my left.

I groaned and let my face flop onto Zack's chest. His heart rate was through the roof! It wasn't that bad, was it?

"You guys go," I heard him say. "We'll catch up."

"…Okay," came Yuffie's reluctant reply. I heard the door to the roof open and close a little while after.

There was a moment of silence before Zack used two fingers to lift my head by the chin. "Told us what?"

Couldn't he forget about that? I sighed and looked away with a soft curse. "It's nothing I can't handle."

He snorted. "Don't give me that shit, Chocobo. You nearly gave me a heart attack; you've been out for almost three hours!"

I snorted unintentionally. That was a joke compared to the usual. I'm actually proud of those hours.

"You think that's funny?"

I startled, looking up at him with wide eyes as his face contorted into that angry expression I'd seen only two days ago.

"No, Zack, I-" I sighed, frustrated. "Look, that's the best I've done since this shit started happening, alright?"

He seemed to calm down a little, looking almost as frightened as the first time before I passed out. "Wh- how long?"

"Since the fifth grade." May as well tell him, if I'm going to tell anyone about it besides Yuffie. "It only happens if I don't eat the way a normal person should. I only pass out if I miss all three square meals. Usually I'm okay with just one."

"Didn't you eat this morning?"

"Yes, I did. I think it's that donation I made last night that took me out."

"Yeah, I guess." He fidgeted a bit before looking up at me. "Thanks again, by the way. Rude called this morning and said that Reno was awake and being a usual ass."

Zack smiled. I loved to see him smile. It made me feel better for the rest of the day, no matter how crappy. Then it thinned a bit to an expression between gratitude and guilt. "I can't thank you enough, Cloud."

I felt my heart break a little but I waved it away, manfully fighting off a blush. "It's no big deal. Besides, you're not the only friend he has, you know."

We sat in silence for a minute when a chorus of voices finally registered around campus.

"What time is it, anyway?"

"It's the middle of lunch," he answered.

Shit! I had to meet with the triplets today!

I scrambled to my feet, nearly falling over at the sudden wave of vertigo if it weren't for Zack gripping my wrist and rising with me. He looked at me with furrowed eyebrows.

"Where are you running off to? You sure you should be moving round so soon?"

"I have to tutor Kadaj and his brothers."

I felt him freeze and hesitantly met his gaze. It boiled with barely concealed rage.

"Don't go anywhere near them."

What?

"What? But Rollins said-."

"Fuck Rollins," he spat. "I'm warning you, for your own good. Stay far from them."

I hoisted my bag onto my shoulder. "Well I can't exactly avoid them, you know."

"You can and you will," he stated in a tone that booked no argument whatsoever. "Because you're back with me today." He grinned so suddenly, I nearly capitulated from shock. "I've been neglecting you lately so I'm going to make up for it."

Of course, being me, I went along with it.

When we'd gotten to the cafeteria and sat down, Yuffie immediately pushed an overstuffed tray under my nose.

What the hell? I'm sickly, not a glutton!

"You need to eat!" I completely withered under her glare, fruitlessly looking at Zack for backup.

"Not this time, Chocobo," he said, voice the epitome of all things serious. "I can't have you passing out again on my watch."

I took what I knew to be a useless chance to look to the others, who gave me equally hard looks. "Fine! But don't look at me."

At that moment I saw Vincent's eyes flick up at something behind me. I craned my head backward to find five green eyes looking at me. Twisting around, I faced Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz.

"We missed you today, Cloud," Kadaj said in his sing-song voice. "We haven't been that poor of a class for you to duck out on our sessions, have we?"

I acutely felt all my friends looking between me and the triplets.

"Well find a new tutor," Zack all but snarled before I could summon a reply.

Kadaj looked at him and raised his visible eyebrow. "Oh? And what have we done to deserve such animosity?"

"Don't play stupid."

"Zack," I said, nudging his foot with mine.

"Where's that red head friend of yours?" Yazoo spoke up, flicking his long man to rest behind his shoulders. I felt a wall so thick erect itself around Zack that I nearly moved back out of instinct. I looked back at the Jenova brothers and thought back to what Reno said about them a few days back. Did they have something to do with Reno getting shot?

"What's it to ya?" Yuffie's hard mouth dipped in. I shot her a glare that seemed to bounce off her effortlessly. Man, this was going to get out of hand if I didn't do something soon.

"Get fucking lost," Zack gritted out. I'd honestly never seen him so hostile against another person. He may have been peeved enough to ignore them for a few days. But outright like this? Unheard of!

"But Zachary," Loz spoke for the second time since I'd met him. "He's supposed to help us catch up with the rest of the class."

"Shove it, Loz. You're all smarter than the average schmuck. You don't need a damned tutor."

Smarter than… They were geniuses?

"They don't act like it," Cissnei commented and I was inclined to agree. We all were. But how the hell did Zack know all this?

"I thought you didn't know these fools," Cid piped up, voicing my own inner question.

"You've disowned us already?" Kadaj cooed. "I'm almost hurt, Fair."

"You know, it would be a shame if something terrible happened to the little red head," Yazoo seemed to be stuck inside his thoughts. "Wouldn't you agree, Brother?"

"Wholeheartedly," Kadaj smiled that thin, sweet smile I'd come to recognize at a glimpse.

Zack stood so suddenly, nose inches away from Kadaj's. I felt something in my gut twist and I reached out to grab Zack's pant leg instinctively.

"Zack," I repeated. "Back off, alright?"

Of course, he probably didn't hear me or simply chose to ignore whatever I said. I'll admit he never always listened to me, but he at least heard what I had to say.

"Come on Zack, don't do this."

"I'd listen to this blue eyed sweetie, Zachary," Loz smirked. "Someone may just get hurt."

I gulped, inaudibly I hope, and tried my best to catch Zack's gaze. As fate would have it, and my undying gratitude, the bell rang for last period. I stood beside Zack and gripped his wrist. His entire arm twitched as if he was going to yank it away but thought better of it at the last second. This wasn't good.

"Let it go, Zack," I all but pleaded. "Let's get to class."

It took all of sixty seconds before he yielded and walked away. But not before hurling over his shoulder the most scathing look he could muster toward the Jenova brothers.

"Bad news, is what they are."

I was beginning to feel that Reno was right. I looked over my shoulder in time to see Kadaj wave innocently at me, Loz wearing his customary smirk and Yazoo smiling lightly, holding up two fingers and a thumb, blowing lightly across the first two. I felt my heart clench and my breathing hitch before turning away and following the others to class.

**A.N.: LAAAME! But at least the plot got somewhere. And it's a bit better than the others. The next one would be much better, I can assure you (since I can't afford to make any promises).**

**And as for that 'garbling' sound, it was Zack's voice. Cloud was already halfway gone when he was trying to speak to him. **

**That is all.**


	5. Chapter 5

That afternoon, I found myself sitting in the hall of the hospital I'd seen only the night before, Tifa and Cissnei sitting side by side, Cid in his corner, Vincent on the floor beside Yuffie, who'd assumed last night's seat. Jessie, who hadn't been to school for two days, shared Yuffie's chair. I stood next to Vincent.

We'd all come to see Reno, of course. Zack was inside with Rude, and we all waited our turn; not everyone could fit inside the small room. While we waited, the others talked softly, having their little joke here and there. I just spent time wracking my brain for answers I knew weren't there but searched anyway.

Zack was hiding something, and I know the others had caught on as well. They may be crude and act like total asses at times, but they weren't stupid. He had to have known Kadaj and his brothers, otherwise he wouldn't have adamantly told me to keep my distance. That and the fact that he'd 'disowned' them started to bug me. At least Reno said they were bad news, despite the fact that he denied having prior knowledge of either of them. And I trust his judgment of people a lot of the time because he's that kind of person who can sense a kind spirit. Between him and Yuffie, at least. But I just didn't get it sometimes. They meant absolutely no harm since I've known them (all of two days, no less) so the hostility was lost on me. Now, though, the Jenova brothers were starting to creep me out. Especially Kadaj…

His smile was something that could make you both relaxed and tense at the same time. On one hand it was harmless and engaging. Almost like it's humoring whomever it's pointed at. On the other hand it almost seemed unnaturally sweet and endearing. Loz, however, had a face that spelled trouble. Now, I know some people had austere faces that seemed outright unfriendly and dangerous-looking but their personalities proved otherwise; Loz was not one of them. His voice was patronizing, and he spoke as if he were talking to a little child. Or like a child… I can't figure it out. But it was disconcerting all the same. Add that to the fact that he was noticeably more muscular than his brothers and that painted a rather frightening picture.

Now Yazoo…

Let's just say that the quiet ones were those who caused the most trouble. He mentioned Reno's condition in a near point-blank fashion. "You know, it would be a shame if something terrible happened to the little red head."

How's that for dropping the bomb? He was dangling a red cape in front of a bull like that. And Zack could be dangerous when he chose to be. Like the time when Gunther, one of the kids who'd beat me up a few years back, had all but knocked me out. Zack nearly tore the poor kid limb from limb. I had absolutely no fear for Zack's well being. Don't get me wrong, I would worry a bit but I trusted him to take care of himself. However, I didn't want him kicked out of school in his senior year.

If I hadn't barely stopped him, he would have torn out Yazoo's hair, tied it around his dick and fed it to him through a plastic straw. And as entertaining slash scary that would be, I just couldn't let it happen. Not that I could stop him, anyway. But making the effort would soothe my conscience some.

I sighed inwardly. I couldn't do this. Try to figure this out, I mean. Zack was a complicated person all on his own: he's still the happy go lucky idiot I'd met five years ago, no doubt. I don't think he'd changed. But lately, he's just been confusing me - more than usual, anyway. What I really wanted to know was what connected Zack, Reno and the Brothers. Were they the reason Reno got shot? Plausible. I mean, Yazoo's little act yestersday can attest to it. Could they be a part of some sort of organization out to get Zack? Was he some sort of undercover diplomat or something? Was he CIA? Son of a drug lord?

Dammit, Zack. What the hell are you hiding?

A poke to my sensitive side brought me back to the present, my hand instinctively moving to the attacked area. I was extremely ticklish, I admit. And my eyes immediately hardened as I looked for the offender. My focus ended up on red orbs looking at me blankly.

Vincent stood in front of me now, no longer sitting down beside me. He motioned toward the door where Rude stood just outside looking at me, I guess expectantly (I couldn't tell with the glasses in the way). Unconsciously glancing at everyone else, they just looked at me funny. Yuffie just looked worried. As usual.

I guess it's my turn. I pushed myself off the wall, and walked inside. Zack was leaning against the far left wall, arms folded and looking all the world like a lazy teenager if it weren't for the slight frown on his face. It disappeared when he saw me, though. I moved my gaze to a grinning Reno who patted the bed beside him.

"Look who's here!" he beamed. "My hero~!"

I snorted. I was no one's hero, I wanted to say. I couldn't save my own ass much less my family's. But I let him have his fun. After all, he was on death's door a mere day before. Which reminds me: how'd he recover so quickly anyway? I expected him to be a horrible patient, yeah, but bright eyed and bushy tailed like that?

"Hello to you, too, Reno," I greeted blandly, taking the offered seat. I looked at the bandage on his shoulder, wondering how the bullet wound must have looked when he got shot. I've read about people with the same injury and they all seemed to gush uncontrollably.

Then again, they're just either books or fan fiction. Either way, who knew? Besides the professionals, anyway.

"I don't feel a thing, Cloudy!" Reno chuckled, following my gaze. "Whatever these docs used on me are magic."

"They have him hyped on morphine," Zack supplied form his post against the wall, rolling his eyes skyward. I smiled slightly at him before returning my attention on my red haired friend. I'm not one of many outspoken words as I am of inward thoughts, but thank goodness for people like Zack and Reno who know how to fill the silence.

Reno's grin had faded and he looked at me intently. He eyes roved as if searching for something. I was beginning to feel self conscious to the point that I was fighting not to blush and fidget.

"I hear you ended up with those bastards as some sort of tutor," he said softly.

I fought the urge to glance at Zack. "Yeah, but Zack handed in my resignation," I replied dryly. A corner of Reno's lips twitched as he flicked his eyes toward the raven in the corner before looking at me again.

"Good." He shifted to get more comfortable. "Stay away from them."

"You too?" I said before I could stop it. I mean, sure, they were creepy sons of bitches but I have nothing to do with what's going on between them, Zack and Reno.

"What do you mean, 'you too'?"

I sighed. "Your buddy here more or less kidnapped me today and had me play hide and seek with Kadaj's group."

"I didn't kidnap you," Zack said almost indignantly. "I saved your ass!"

"Damn right he did," Reno agreed, nodding to affirm his stand in the matter. "And what's this I hear about you passing out today?"

I felt my heart stop and plummet to my crotch (I was sitting down so it couldn't get to my feet, see?) and I closed my eyes to avoid rolling them. "Why is everyone still stuck on that?"

It really bugged me. I mean, sure it felt nice that they cared, but it got annoying after a while. If I leaned too far in any direction, they looked about ready to form a human mattress to catch me should I fall over. If I closed my eyes for too long, they'd all but get into a tizzy. If I so much as looked at food, they'd start offering to get me something. It made me feel weak and pathetic more than anything. And that in itself annoyed the living hell out of me.

"Look," I started before he could put his two cents in. "I got careless, alright? And I paid for it accordingly. Now will you get off my back? God-shit, man!"

Reno looked at me as if I'd grown another head before throwing up his good arm in mock-surrender. "Well excuse me for caring, man."

I groaned and felt my shoulders slump. "Yeah," was all I could say. I wasn't going to go through this today. My mind was already working overtime with trying to figure this situation out. Which reminded me:

"Anyhow, we came here to see you and talk about you, alright?" I folded my arms and looked at him in, what I hoped to be, a stern manner. "How the hell did you manage to get shot? I know I've threatened to do it on more than one account, but I don't like the fact that someone stole my chance."

Which is half true. I just wanted to throttle him more often than not.

He cast a sideways glance at Zack, who'd studiously avoided both his and mine. I looked to Reno again, brows slightly creased in confusion and thought. If my hunch is correct, then the Jenova's had something to do with it. If so, then why couldn't they just say so? I mean sure, I'd be shocked all the same but not at the degree where I'd flip out.

"He was in the wrong place at the wrong time," came Zack's voice. It was soft and hard at the same time and I almost missed the glare Reno shot at him that softened almost immediately into something akin to… tenderness.

I mentally shook off negative thoughts that threatened to barrel into my mind. Focus, Cloud.

"Well I could see that," I said dryly then sobered up quite quickly. I spent a few moments of silence just looking at Reno and then at Zack. I couldn't afford to lose any of them like this if this kind of thing kept happening. Reno's like the older brother I never had and Zack… Well, I'll never have him but you get the idea.

Suddenly I just got the urge to smack Reno. And I did.

"Hey!" He yelped. "I'm injured here!"

"That's for being stupid," I said, ignoring his complaint. "And if I'm right, it's because of that hard mouth of yours."

I distantly heard Zack snort, and heard a rumble that was definitely not a hospital tray. We all looked at each other and I silently cursed my stomach while feigning innocence. After all that crap I still hadn't eaten lunch. If I keep this up, I might end up in one of these nifty hospital beds.

A look of realization lit up Zack's face, closely followed by guilt. But when he immediately turned to me, his eyes glowed with a fierce determination I'd learned to dread when directed this way.

"Reno," he walked over to the bed and fived his red haired partner in crime. "It's been good, but I have feed the little Chocobo here before he keels over again."

Reno looked at me with furrowed eyebrows. "Not eating knocks you senseless?"

Ugh.

"I'll explain it later." I stood and stretched before turning and smiling slightly at Reno, who seemed a little shocked. I mean, I would be too. It's not often I throw smiles out into the open at just anybody. Those were reserved for the heartwarming moments, almost like the one here.

"Glad you're still among the living, Reno." I looked to Zack and sighed. "You're free to kidnap me, now."

"I didn't kidnap you!"

I rolled my eyes and Reno chuckled. I had turned to leave when I was yanked back suddenly and an arm found purchase around my shoulders. It caught me so much by surprise that I didn't have time to react before I was released and pushed back onto my feet.

I met bright blue eyes looking at me and a solemn-looking Reno. "Thank you, Cloud. I owe you my life."

He owed me my sanity but I digress.

I waved it away with a shrug. "You don't owe me anything," I said then smirked. "Just don't go getting yourself shot too often. I need blood, too."

He cracked a tiny smile and I ruffled his hair. I always liked his hair for some odd reason, and more than Zack's. "Well the next time I see you, it won't be in a hospital, alright?"

"Come on, Spiky," Zack called from by the doorway. "You're not the only one who needs to eat around here."

I rolled my eyes and with one more 'see ya' I was out the door. The others had already left, and Rude went back inside to sit with Reno for a while longer. So really it was just me and Zack. Which brought me back to the same thoughts that terrorized me before I went in to see Reno.

Which, again, was why I found myself flush with a hard chest. I reared back and looked up to see Zack looking at me with an amused look on his face.

"Sorry," I muttered. "I spaced out for a second."

"More like three minutes," he raised an eyebrow before returning to my left and walking in line with me. "I was asking where you wanted to go for a bite."

I stopped to think for a moment, but decided against it. Zack knew what I liked, so I'll let him choose.

"You choose."

He cast a sideways glance at me. "You sure about that?"

I admit, even after all those years, you'd think I'd come to trust him with my life (really I do) but a question like that always made me think twice.

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Well don't I have a treat for you!" He crowed. Immediately an arm was tossed around my shoulder and I had to consciously stop myself from melting right into him.

"You can't just keep it in forever."

I sighed and unconsciously buried my cheek a little into his shoulder. Either way I can't have him. I mean, look at him an Reno. I know, they're closer than I'd ever get to anyone, but the thought still hurt. Zack hid information about his grudge against the 'Fearsome Threesome', what makes me think he's not hiding a relationship with Reno? I saw the look I'm sure they shared.

The very idea made my body rebel violently. It gave me a migraine and I had to fight back my gag reflex. I just knew my feet were dragging now. It hurt to think that Zack was happy with someone other than me. But he was happy.

I just had to accept it.

"You okay down there, buddy?" I heard Zack ask mid-food-tirade.

No! I'm confused, hurt… I've lost you to Reno…You're keeping something away from me. I'm your friend, dammit!

"I'm fine," I mumbled.

"I've kept it to myself for five years, I can manage one more."

Can I, really?

**A/N: Oh-HO~! Look who has structure to the story! I'd like to think in that regard, I've done remarkably well (even though it took five chapters to get there. I was aiming for chapter three…) So! Tell me what you think!**

**I know, not much Clack going on here, but it'll come soon. I just need to read some more and you'll have your angst served on a mako-platter. Besides, I might find a way to drag this crap out quite nicely.**


	6. Chapter 6

I had to admit, I enjoyed myself with Zack as he kidnapped me for lunch. Soon enough it turned into treating me to dinner. If I allowed myself to believe it, I'd say we were out on a date. Anyway, I never knew he had a bike until that night. A sexy little thing if I do say so myself. Custom-made, he said. And that's what I came home in.

I removed the helmet and handed it to him. He rode the entire way without it, much to my consternation. But he insisted that I wear it, so I did, albeit grudgingly. His hand dog look works better than his puppy dog eyes.

He took the helmet and gave me a lopsided smile. "Take care, Chocobo. No passing out tomorrow?"

I rolled my eyes. "That's only the second time it happened because of you."

Oops. I guess the alcohol loosened a bit more than just my muscles. He blinked and frowned.

"Because of me?" he parroted slowly.

Well, I reasoned. I already dug myself a hole. Let's lay in it, yeah?

"The last time was when Reno had disappeared," I answered.

"And I came in that where…?"

"You practically cut me off, Zack," I told him, waving my hand nonchalantly. "I figured since we were best friends, you'd tell me what was going on. I was wrong on all counts. But anyway," I said quickly before he had a chance to speak. "I skipped two days of eating and missed school for two."

"I remember you missing school," he tapered off, seemingly getting lost in thought.

"Because I spent the first day passed out on the living room floor."

I'm telling you, the look on his face was borderline horrified.

"The next day I felt too sick and over-worried to budge. Yuffie found me and since then practically force fed me once a day to keep my on my feet."

Zack was silent for all of ten seconds before asking softly: "And this time?"

"Like I said: you avoided me like the plague. What was I supposed to think? It's like you had some sort of personality whiplash. I've never known you to outright hate someone since I met you."

I looked him in the eyes to see guilt embedded in the eyes I'd come to love.

"I'm-"

"Don't apologize," I sighed. "It's not my place to interfere and I know you'd tell me if it bugged you too much."

He bit his bottom lip (how cute) and looked away. If there's anything I like less than seeing him angry, it's seeing him so down. I cupped his chin and made him face me.

"Look, you've more than made up for it, so relax. Okay?"

He didn't meet my gaze but nodded. I couldn't see he didn't seem to believe me but his agreement was enough. I gave him a wry smile. "Go on home, Porcupine. We've got school in the morning."

He looked up and returned the smile weakly. "See ya."

I watched him make a u-turn to leave the cull de sac before I turned and walked up to my front door. Once inside, I yanked off my tie and left my bag beside the coat rack. Looking up, I noticed the kitchen light was on.

Strange…

I took cautious steps toward it and craned my neck to see around the corner.

"Mom?"

No answer. I called again and I still couldn't hear anything. Wait.

There. I heard a faint rustling coming from the kitchen. But it was empty. I listened for the sound again and I followed it to the pantry. Inside I saw something I'm sure I'd never forget for as long as I live.

My mom was already half nude, straddling some guy who had already whipped it out.

And on top of the cereal, man!

It took a few seconds before I finally managed an outraged: "MOM!" And only a few moments later, I would have passed out from shock.

Both my mom and her 'boyfriend' sat side by side on the couch, both looking at me with a hit of red on their cheeks.

Mom cleared her throat. "Um, Cloud," she began. "I'd like you to meet-."

"We've met," I interrupted coolly. She looked surprised.

"You have? Oh, well then."

The man looked calm and cool as a cucumber but I knew he was suitably cowed. I knew his expressions like the back of my hand. I knew _him_.

I looked at him. "Does your buddy know, too?"

"Yes," he answered solemnly. I nodded in acknowledgement and left for my upstairs bedroom.

The following day I'd stayed holed up in my room, adamantly refusing to speak to my mother. Don't get me wrong, I love my mom to pieces but I just couldn't take it.

After a few hours of me being angry at the world, mom had finally left the house. She slipped a note under the door before leaving, stating that she'd been called to the office where she worked whenever she was in town. I rolled over and yawned, having fallen asleep for the fourth time that day, and looked at my clock. It was nearing three o'clock in the afternoon, so that meant mom left four hours ago. She probably wouldn't be home until late, anyway.

Still a bit drowsy, I was slightly startled when a frighteningly off-tune singing voice sounded under my pillow, eyebrows furrowing when I saw that I had twelve messages and five missed calls. Most were from Zack and a few from Yuffie and one was from a number I didn't recognize and immediately deleted without reading. The one I'd just gotten was from Zack.

_Call me._

I contemplated doing just that but decided that I wasn't in the best of moods to talk even to Zack. It would have to wait until the next day. But right now, I needed a pill and something to eat. With that, I emerged from the bat cave and figured I'd burn my skin with a scalding how shower.

My muscles relaxed to the point where I nearly sagged completely. I spent about an hour just standing there before I actually showered. That actually helped wash away some of my stress and cleared my head.

Moving to wash my back, my mind drifted between past and present after I went over slightly raised skin where I'd been burnt and blistered. I'd never wish that kind of pain on my worst enemy.

The water became cold and unforgiving, snapping me back to reality. I got out and dried, feeling almost refreshed.

Time to eat, I told myself, waltzing down to the kitchen and stopping before the pantry. Memory reared its ugly head and I nearly gagged.

The cereal, man!

I groaned and dashed back up the stairs, taking two at a time before I raided my closet for a simple blue tee and my black sweat suit. Throwing my sneakers around my neck, I sat at the door and put on my skates.

Can't say I don't exercise.

Besides, it's been a while since I'd just gone out on the town. I think I'll go to the movies.

I took my pill dry and high tailed it out of the house before mom came home.

And have fun I did. Dinner was an entire box of pizza, two liter soda, and a large bag of popcorn. Unhealthy for the body, but panacea for the taste buds. But holy snot, I felt like I was going to burst! I grinned to myself as I left the bathroom and crawled back into my bed.

The next morning I marched up to the rooftop with my mind set on one thing and one task only. I must have has it written all over my face because those who saw me had enough sense to move the hell out of my way. I threw open the large metal door and was met with pole-axed expressions. But that wasn't my concern as my gaze zeroed in on Reno. I knew he would have been cleared yesterday and sent to school today. But his case wasn't too happy.

Faster than I knew fast could be, my fist connected with his jaw. Reno fell to the ground, favoring his abused mandible. Only then did the others' voices half register to my ears. But my focus was still on the fallen red head. He looked at me wide-eyed in shock.

"What the-?"

But I lunged forward to hold him up by his shirt. "You knew Rude was shagging my mom and you didn't tell me?" I shook him just as hard and quick as I spewed the words out of my mouth. The anger and shock, plus my hurt at not being told had been half put into that shake and I resisted the urge to try to toss his ass over the edge of the roof. Instead I dropped him and stormed back to the door when Zack decided to show up. He seemed surprised to see me but I wouldn't stop to chat. I still had some pent up frustration to blow off before I could socialize properly: meaning I had to chew off a piece of Rude's ass to feel better.

I knew I'd feel guilty for snuffing Zack for an entire day. Especially after two days ago when I'd told him I'd forgiven him. But for a whole day I'd wordlessly threatened Reno's life and promised intense suffering to anyone who came too close.

She's my _mother_ for fuck's sake!

At least I had a hefty breakfast this morning. I was honestly too pissed to eat anything today. So much so that Yuffie kept her distance. I'd worry about lunch and my friends later. Right now, I'm on a mission.

As soon as the final bell rang, I all but disappeared off the earth.

I was on my way to Rude's.

The streets in his neighborhood were empty as usual, and those invisible eyes only served to further bug me. So I wasted no time in getting where I had to go.

"…Cloud," he acknowledged.

"Rude…" I responded coolly. He stepped back to allow me inside the house. The bald man tossed me a bag of Doritos (my favorite and he knows it) and took a seat in the armchair. I sat there, studiously ignoring the red bag and looked at him, eyebrow raised and expecting an explanation.

"You decked Reno," he finally spoke. It didn't shock me that he knew already. I was used to that uncanny accuracy with his assumptions.

"It had to be done."

"We would have told you."

"After you came all over our food?"

"It wasn't supposed to happen!"

"So you just had a random idea to shag in the pantry over my frikkin' cereal. Is that it!"

"Is that what this is-"

"No, you stupid fool!" I glared harder. "Why my mom?"

"Why not?"

_Touché._ "She's my _mom_! And we're on a first name basis!"

"So?"

"How am I supposed to live knowing you might end up _being my daddy?_"

A sigh. "Cloud…"

I was in his face before the tail end of that sigh left his mouth. I snatched his shades off his face (why were they on indoors, anyway?) and gazed right into his (surprisingly gorgeous, but not the point) honey eyes.

"You do shit in any way shape or form and I'll kill you." I stood to my full height (sigh) and dropped his glasses into his lap before getting my bag of Doritos and heading toward the door. Before I left, I looked over my shoulder at a more than shocked Rude. I'm not a violent person by nature but I was still feeling put out.

"Besides," I added. "she's had enough to cope with." I shifted my attention to my Red Bag and fairly beamed. "Thanks for lunch!"

I decided to take the long way home; it was what I called the 'scenic route.' It was nearly four thirty and I mourned the depletion of my awesome bag of nacho goodness. I was about eighteen blocks away from home now, although I was already in the residential area. Belatedly I realized that my phone has been curiously silent. Reaching into my left pocket I pulled it out and found it was off. I guess I'd forgotten to turn it on this morning (it was one of those that automatically shut off at midnight). After it went past the welcome screen, I nearly tripped over my own two feet. There were nearly forty missed calls since three fifteen this afternoon, all either coming from Zack or Yuffie. A couple were from Cid and one from Vincent. I didn't blame Reno for not calling, and if Cissnei called, Tifa had no need to (I have my suspicion about those two…). I decided I'd call Zack first, since I feel I owed it to him, and an explanation.

"Speak," came the terse greeting. I raised an eyebrow. Whoa.

"Look, if you called for a reason…" I guess he didn't look at the screen then.

"Zack?" I cut in, still mildly shocked by the hostile tone. There was a pause before a considerably kinder and extremely relieved sounding "Cloud? Holy- Cloud is that you?" came over the line.

"Uh, yeah?" I think I had a mental whiplash.

"Where are you now?"

"On Gilded Bridge."

"Why there?"

"I'm on my way home." I figured it was obvious.

"That's-"

"Nowhere near my house," I finished for him. "I know."

"Sun's going to touch down in a little while," he hummed, leaving it open ended.

I sighed. "I'm a big boy, Zack. I'm not afraid of the dark."

"I know, I just…"

I frowned. He sounded… tired. "What's eating at you?"

"Nothing," he answered a bit _too_ quickly. Then I heard a faint sigh. "You just didn't show up for a few days and then you practically disappeared after school…"

I winced. "Yeah, about that. I was PO'd. I couldn't afford to lash out at you by mistake. …Sorry?"

A dry chuckle came from the other end.

"Where are you now?" I asked, truly curious. Although there were persons on the bridge milling around, I heard absolutely nothing from his end.

I don't know, but I got this vibe that he was hesitating. But I guess he decided to bite the bullet.

"I'm sitting in front of your house and was about to go looking somewhere else," he replied solemnly. "No one's home. Your mom left a note, though."

I blinked and felt my shoulders slump. "She didn't leave it on the front door, did she?"

He chuckled and I felt my heart warm. It wasn't that raucous laughter he normally issued after a joke or just for public use. It was that chest-born deep rumble than sent my blood on a high no crack addict had ever seen.

"She said she'd be gone for a few days and that the food is fine. Whatever that means."

Right. I hadn't told him.

"I know what she meant," I fought off an angry blush at the memory. "I'll tell you about that later."

"Is that why you decked Reno?"

"Not exactly but the bastard had it coming for years," I mumbled. "This one just set me off."

I could imagine his eyebrow climbing up to his hairline. "You've reached your limit? The physical pacifist, Cloud Strife?"

"Whatever," I rolled my eyes and turned to lean on the rail of the bridge.

Zack chuckled again and I couldn't resist the small smile that broke out on my face. I knew if I couldn't have him, I'd enjoy what I could get. If it was friendship, I'll live with it.

I was about to say something when I felt someone tap me on my shoulder. Straightening, I turned slightly to see a familiar green eye looking at me.

"Kadaj…" I looked to see that he was alone for once.

"Kadaj?" I heard Zack faintly on the other end, as I held the phone off my ear a little. At that moment someone chose to bump into me violently, causing my phone to slip and fall over the rail. Down…all the way into the lake below.

Shit.

**A/N: Wow. Six pages for chapter six. But anyhow. I like how this is coming along…somewhat. It's actually my favorite so far. Tell me what you think! I'm slowly getting my groove back but I'm getting there. This was like a crack chapter to me but it was relevant to the story, honest!**


	7. Chapter 7

"You weren't in the middle of a call, were you?" Kadaj moved to stand beside me, following my gaze to the barely visible ripple the thousand-plus foot drop made. His patronizing tone was beginning to irk me a little; probably because I was, in fact, in the middle of a phone call.

"Well that's a shame," he continued, still looking down at the lake. I felt a pat on my shoulder and looked to see Kadaj moving to possibly leave.

The little…

"Come on," he looked at me, for once with a straight face rather than that false smile I'd come to know and somewhat dread. It made my mind seize for a moment, letting him walk ahead a few paces before he paused and looked back expectantly, visible eyebrow raised.

Unbidden, both Zack's and Reno's warnings whizzed through my mind.

"_Bad news…"_

"_Stay the hell away from them."_

"I won't kidnap you," Kadaj sighed. I couldn't hide my slight flush at being read so easily. I kind of blame Zack for that: he made me move my face too often. I was the prince of blank faces; Vincent's king.

With a mental shrug, I walked up to him, remaining a half step behind. We walked in in silence, a partially tense on my part and seemingly completely normal for him. He walked as casually as casual can be, hands in the pockets of his leather jacket and army booted feet striding confidently. Only then did I consciously realize that he was no longer in uniform. I was, however, still.

"You shouldn't be wandering round this kind of time nowadays," he spoke unexpectedly, cryptically.

"Huh?" I responded intelligently, caught off guard.

"It's not safe," he simplified, vague still. His pace increased slightly, strides longer. I kept up, but just short of breaking into a light lope.

I frowned. "I'm quite capable of self defense, thanks."

What was he on about, anyway?

I drew level with him and matched step for step. Looking up to my right, I saw the corner of his lips twitch in obvious amusement (which rankled quite a bit) before his normally soft features hardened.

"I've no doubt of that," he responded. "But I'd hate to see an innocent like you caught up in this mess."

Innocent? Caught up in…?

"What?" I breathed.

The sun had lowered significantly and it was dusk by the time we made it across the bridge. I followed Kadaj into a store in a small plaza not too far away.

"What are you talking about?" My frown deepened at the lack of response.

"This has nothing to do with you, Cloud," he reverted to his sing-song voice so quickly it threw me for a loop. What it Gaia's name…?

"Well if it has nothing -"

"Which one do you want?" He cut me off, green eye looking at something on a wall I vaguely registered we'd stopped at. Put off and confused, I followed his gaze to see a wide array of brand new cell phones; prices, however, varied a little too much. If I was frowning deeply before, my face must have been a shadow, now.

"Well, come on, Cloud-dear," he looked at me. "We do have to leave eventually."

He was telling me to choose a phone, right after he told me potentially life-saving information? And possibly about what's been going on with Zack?

"Why?" was all I could manage.

"I'm sure you recall your phone plummeting to its death minutes ago, yes?"

"But-."

"Just choose before I change my mind."

I picked the one that tickled my fancy and handed it to him. He looked at it approvingly and turned to walk to the check-out counter. As the clerk did her job, Kadaj proceeded to rip the hard plastic packaging to shreds like it was nothing more than paper. Idly, he looked into the glass case that held SIM cards. He pointed.

"Give me that one."

To say I was lost was the understatement of the century. Although he'd done me no specific wrong, I had no idea what possessed him to be so… friendly. Between Zack and Reno, they had me thinking he was the bane of humanity. Well, Loz and Yazoo fit that profile, but Kadaj was a paradox unlike any other.

I watched him take out his own phone and dial a number on the new one. After a few seconds tinkering with both phones, he handed me the silver phone, dialing a number on his own black one. The ringing gadget in my hand startled me a little. I looked at the cover screen to see a single _'K'_ displayed. I looked to see Kadaj lightly motion for me to answer the phone, and I did, flipping open the receiver. My eyes averted to hear who was on the other end, and they snapped up when I heard Kadaj's voice both on the phone and in front of me.

"I can see it works, then," he hung up and pocketed his cell. I did the same, slowly, still confused as hell.

Did Kadaj just buy me a new phone? I mean, hey, I got to save money and it's a damn sexy mobile but still…

Kadaj walked toward the exit and I followed automatically. Before we left I heard him murmur:

"This never happened, alright? Stay out of sight if you're alone. Trust me: it's for your own good. Tell no one. Not even Fair, got it?"

I nodded dumbly, fear bubbling below my conscious mind at the implications. "But why?" There was so much put into that question, I wasn't surprised that he asked me to be specific. 'Why' covered a wide array, you know.

Kadaj shook his head. "That's for another time, Little One."

_Little? _

He must have seen my outrage because he smiled. Not the one I was used to, but a smile I just knew by instinct was genuine. And as quickly as it appeared, it was gone, the rumble of a motorcycle meeting our ears. We were on the sidewalk by then, and I immediately tenses when I recognized the engine. The black vehicle slowed to a stop, the rider removing the helmet to reveal the stormy expression of none other than Zack Fair.

He glared so hard at Kadaj, I nearly cowered _for_ the guy. Never taking his eyes off Zack, though, he placed a hand on my shoulder and leaned over to speak softly into my ear.

"No. One." He straightened, trademark smile affixed to his features and directed almost haughtily at Zack. He gave me a tiny push toward my angry friend. Something unspoken and….something else within that push.

"How nice of you to join us, Zachary." His voice oozed the definition of 'mocking.'

"Fuck off, Jenova," Zack spat, holding his helmet in my direction. I wanted to say something really badly but I kept my tongue, just really needing to vacate the vicinity before I completely lost it.

"What's the matter, Fair? Why the glare?" Kadaj chuckled, the ominous sound sending a cold shiver down my spine. It nearly made me forget the 'gentler' side of him he'd shown me just a little while ago. I shook the feeling and took the helmet, slipping it on with the visor up and mounting the bike behind Zack.

He remained silent, only revving the engine. Kadaj merely smirked and glanced at me, and something in his eyes changed, shifting so suddenly that I almost missed it.

"See you later, Cloud-dear!"

With that, Zack tore off. Another time, I would have short-circuited; sitting with my arms around him, pressed against him without fear of feeling awkward. It would have been the rush of a lifetime…

But I was too tense and bothered to properly enjoy the twenty-minute ride home. Zack wasn't as relaxed, either. At least not like when he'd ''kidnapped' me for lunch. I almost dreaded stopping, not well-equipped for whatever Zack had to throw at me. He was absolutely livid - he _did_ tell me (don't forget Reno, too) to keep my distance: and Zack wouldn't say that without good reason. But Kadaj, he…

I groaned and let my helmet-encased head fall against Zack's back. I felt both cheated and defeated. First of all, I had absolutely no idea what was going on, and the not-so-helpful hints dropped weren't making anything easier. And the shifting tides of it all just…_threw_ me.

I felt my heart sink further as the bike decelerated. My body felt decidedly heavy with foreboding, arms loosening and just resting carelessly on Zack's hips. His body shifted, I guess his leg moving to toe the kickstand into place. For a few moments, neither of us moved: I didn't know Zack's reason, but for me I just didn't dare.

"Cloud?" I felt his timbre through thrum through the helmet. When I didn't answer, he shifted again, slowly. I moved with him and removed the helmet, placing it between us. I carefully kept my eyes averted, the fear of him directing that frightening antagonism toward me. What was I supposed to tell him if he asked? How could I lie to him? What could be so damned bad that Kadaj actually came and warned (not in great detail, at that) me about?

My throat sealed up and blood rushed past my ears. Just what was Zack hiding? Was Reno involved? Was that why he got shot? Could the same happen to me? To Zack?

A deadly wave of nausea swept over me but I stuffed it down forcefully.

_Sweet Jesus…_

I hadn't realized tears were running down my face until I saw them drop onto the helmet.

"Cloud!"

I blinked and looked up instinctively at the sound of my name. Zack's face was contorted into a frown and his eyes seemed to burn with anger. He raised a hand and I flinched before he could touch me, looking away and forcing down arms slightly raised in self-defense. The same hand rested gently on my cheek and a thumb futilely to wipe away a tear that was immediately replenished. His frown was still in place, however, the rage was mostly gone, replaced by smoldering anger.

"What did he do?" he gritted, cupping my chin to lock our gazes. He free hand moved the helmet and hung it on one of the handlebars, then he turned to pull me into his arms, causing shoulders I never knew were heaving with quiet sobs to relax.

I felt extra pathetic, crying like a damned baby; and in front of Zack, no less, but I just couldn't stop. I was scared out of my damned mind for him.

"Talk to me Cloud," he murmured, holding me to his chest and running fingers through my hair. "What did that bastard do to you? If he'd done anything, so help me…"

At his ministrations, my eyes had closed on their own accord and I'd just breathed, acutely feeling the weight of the silver phone in my pocket, and the guilt on my chest. I finally registered his words and sighed softly. The tears had slowed and I'd calmed a bit, but I still felt damned guilty.

But it had to be done.

I shook my head against his chest and pushed away from him. I kept my eyes lowered, biting my bottom lip to stop it from quivering.

"_Tell no one. Not even Fair, got it?"_

I felt a hand on my cheek and I drew in a sharp, shuddering breath. I moved away from his touch, knowing I'd crumble if I stayed any longer. Swinging a leg over, I dismounted and dug around my pocket for the house key.

"It's nothing." I gave myself a hearty pat on the back for keeping my voice steady, even if it was almost a whisper. I turned to walk up to my door when my wrist was grabbed, holding me in place. I wouldn't move even if I could have, anyway. Zack just…did something to me.

"The hell it's nothing," he said. "Look at me, Cloud."

It took a moment to steel myself but I looked into vibrant blue eyes, shining with concern. It warmed my entire body but also gave me frostbite. I'd never had it in me to lie to him, and I never wanted to. But I just needed to figure things out before I could say anything. Who knew what type of shit he'd get himself into if I told?

"Did he hurt you?" he enunciated slowly, calmly.

I shook my head. "No." It wasn't a lie, thank Gaia.

"Then what is it?" Zack pushed. "There's no way you'd fall apart for no apparent reason."

I sighed and twisted my wrist from his grasp, but it held firm.

"You trust me don't you?" I knew he was trying to capture my gaze but I studiously avoided it. Of course I trusted him with everything I had, and my life.

I nodded, but moved to say nothing else. He sighed, and I felt him deflate; his grip had loosened.

"Look, I get that you don't want to talk, but… Just remember I'm here for you, yeah?"

I finally chanced a look at him, to see him studying the sidewalk as if it held all the answers to life. I felt a pang in my heart, and gave in to the urge to just hug him.

"Thank you, Zack." And I was truly grateful. He may be a nuisance and overbearing, sometimes over-caring, but he knew his limits. Thank Gaia.

He returned the hug, squeezing lightly before letting me go, hands lingering a little longer than normal. But I didn't care to acknowledge it right then.

"Go home, Zack. I'll see you tomorrow."

He nodded. "Goodnight, Chocobo."

I gave a small smile. "'Night, Zack."

**A/N: OH YEAH! Slight Clack right there, folks. The pairing is eventual and we can't wait, yeah? Well you'll have to. But I assure you that you will not be disappointed.**

**I admit that it doesn't make much sense from Cloud's point of view, but fear and love intertwined is a confusing thing. If you put yourself in his place (literally) then you'd really grasp the idea. Hell it took me a little time to figure it out myself ^^;.**

**Thank you so much to those who reviewed. I know I don't acknowledge you much but I really am grateful for all the support! Hopefully I'll satisfy your burning curiosity soon before you pass out from angst XD.**


	8. Chapter 8

I found myself crouched with arms raised to shield myself; from what, I hadn't the slightest clue. At least until I heard the click of a gun's safety being turned on. I felt all the blood drain from my face, but dared not peek to see who held the weapon. I felt all the blood drain from my face, but I dared not look to see who held the weapon. I braced myself, somehow knowing that I wouldn't escape in time. Heaving unsteady breath, I accepted the inevitable.

Depressing, right?

The shot rang out, but the pain I'm sure I would have felt never came. There was, however, the thud of a body hitting the floor, then the sickening sound of wet breathing. Something cold coiled in my gut, and I knew I wouldn't like what I'd see if I looked.

Stupid morbid curiosity.

I first saw an already congealing pool of blood, being pushed around by a fresh set. Slowly unfurling, I next saw a limp hand, palm faced upward, almost beckoning. I swallowed the lump that formed when I saw the bare arm leading to raven hair smattered and smeared with the red discharge. Immediately, and regrettably, my eyes connected with the victim's just in time to see the life in them fade.

I heard some inhuman sound after that, hoarse and cracked. I found I couldn't breathe and was severely lightheaded. Suddenly taking in a lung full of air, my vision cleared and everything became quiet. I was soaked to the bone in sweat.

There was no more blood. No more body. No more lifeless eyes looking back at mine.

No more was the corpse of -.

I never noticed that I'd moved until I found myself hunched over the porcelain shrine in my bathroom, some invisible force pulling everything out my stomach through my throat: both that heavy breakfast and the bag of Doritos.

Inexplicably weak, I collapsed against the wall and breathed, my throat sore and feeling bruised. I guessed, distantly, that I may have screamed. I opened my eyes to find them swimming in moisture, some escaping and rolling down my face.

His body had been lying there…empty of life and bleeding out so quickly…

And his eyes…Holy Gaia, his eyes.

Dead…He was dead.

Zack…

_Zack!_

Somehow I found the energy to run back into my room and dug my hand beneath my pillow for my phone, fingers pressing numbers they memorized quite well.

Pick up, _pick up,_ PICK UP!

My heart practically screamed into my ears and I held my breath until I heard a click.

"I hope whoever this is knows that it's three in the morning," Zack's sleep-thick voice rumbled over the line. I sagged into a boneless heap, nearly sobbing in relief.

Alive, then.

I mentally sneered at myself. I'm such a girl…

"Look, person," Zack spoke again, sounding a bit more awake. "If you care, I have my sexy sleep to catch up on -."

"Zack," I managed to choke out, wincing at the twinge in my throat and the almost lack of voice.

"Who is this?"

"It's me," I rasped, hoping I wouldn't have to speak much longer.

"That's kind of vague, dude."

Right. He doesn't know this number.

"It's me, you stupid fool!"

There was a pause as I envisioned the gears in his head turning. "Cloud?"

He sounded confused. I heard shifting and when he spoke again, he sounded fully awake. "What's up? And why do you sound like that?"

I just sat there, listening to him speak, strained to hear him breathe. That nightmare had scared me shitless. It was so vivid…so real…so _possible_. I couldn't bring myself to respond, still overwhelmed and favoring my damaged throat.

"…Cloud?"

I opened my mouth then, suddenly wanting to just spill my guts and clear my conscience. But I could only manage a pathetic "It's nothing."

"Not this time, Chocobo," he said before I could try to hang up. "Come on, tell Uncle Zack what's wrong."

I couldn't help the tiny twitch at the corner of my mouth. Trust Zack to make me smile after practically watching him die.

"It's just a bad dream," I said, slightly irritated that I sounded like I'd just hit puberty. "I shouldn't have called. I reacted before I could think."

It was half true. I thought about him before I ran to the phone, but then again it was the reason I called.

"Tell me?"

Should I tell him? I mean, it's not everyday you randomly pick up the phone, call a friend and say 'Hey, I dreamed you got shot and killed.'

At that moment, the images from my nightmare resurfaced, unbidden, and made my stomach lurch. I couldn't stifle the nauseous groan that escaped me and I curled up where I sat.

"Hey," his voice called softly. "You okay? You want me to come over?"

I calmed my raging stomach and shook my head (not like he could see, now could he?) "It's almost four in the morning." I slumped against the headboard and took a breath. "It was only a dream, okay? I'll tell you about it later. Go back to sleep."

I knew he doubted me, but I knew he trusted me, too.

"You sure? Absolutely, positively sure?"

No, but it was either wait and collect myself, or risk having to spill everything to him. I made a promise after all, and a promise is a promise.

"_Not even Fair, got it?"_

"Yeah."

Needless to say, I looked like something life had pissed on. Twice. My hair actually _drooped_ a little and my face looked like bleach had a field day. Add that to my stomach being wimpy and you get a poster kid for Life's Victims.

I looked back at the kitchen guiltily, my hand on the front door's knob. I knew I should eat before I go; my sixth sense (that barely works) was telling me to do so. But I was going to be late if I stopped. I sighed and vowed to pig out at lunch before heading out. Locking the door behind me, I started slightly at the sudden sound of an engine coming from the sidewalk.

I turned around, and was shocked to see Zack waiting there on his bike, dressed for the day in school uniform. I walked up to him, faltering a step when he frowned. I'll never get used to it, really. He frowned before, yeah. But these days when he frowned it was normally followed by anger almost fierce as a woman scorned.

"You look like crap," he said, holding out the helmet toward me. I rolled my eyes, taking the black object, knowing that if I argue, he'd put up a good fight. He told me once that he'd rather the passenger be safe because he was responsible for them.

Caring jerk.

"Good morning to you, too Zack," I said, but mentally cursed when I realized that my voice was no better than it was earlier. Suddenly, his fingers held my chin so that I looked at him and he studied me closely. Battling, and quite furiously, with a blush (and I must say, I'm formidable) as he searched my face I counted to fifty in three languages before he let go.

"Hop on," he said, catching me by surprise. I thought-.

"We'll talk about this when we get there."

I had to jinx it.

Zack parked around the back of the school where no one usually went and dismounted the bike while I removed the helmet and hung it on the handlebar. I sat on the seat, Zack leant against the wall with his arms folded.

"Your hair's all droopy," he said at length and I nearly laughed at the statement. Trust my hair to belie my true emotions. I looked away and ran a hand over my face.

"I didn't go back to sleep," I put in. I had to plan my words carefully before I said anything. Zack may act stupid but he wasn't. At least when he chose to be.

"I would have come over, you know." Zack kept his gaze trained on me, and I rubbed some of the tiredness out of my eyes.

"I know. But one of us needed to be awake to take notes in Combined Science," I tried for a joke and the corner of his mouth twitched. But soon it flattened into a frown.

"What was the dream about, Cloud?" He moved to shove his hands into his pants pockets, slouching against the brick wall. I had to admit, with that pose and how his hair stood on end, he looked pretty bad-boy.

_Sexy._ I promptly shot my inner voice.

Not a great idea since it caused the nightmare from last night to loop through my mind and it made me cringe. Of course Zack saw, so it was now or never.

"You died."

There was a heavy silence. I did everything in my power to stop myself from shrinking away in embarrassment. I mean, look. Zack is very much alive and standing right in front of me. If that weren't the case then I'm quite sure I would have been in a straight jacket by now.

Then, there was warmth all around me and I blinked into focus a gray shirt. Zack had his arms around me, running fingers through my hair. I hadn't realized that I'd become a victim of tears again until I felt the front of his shirt was soaked through.

Pathetic.

_But it won you a hug, didn't it?_

Whatever.

"Come on, don't cry, Chocobo," he murmured. "I'm right here. Not going anywhere."

He pulled away and looked at me. "Now smile for me, yeah?"

How could I smile? I just broke down in front of him for the second time in a _row_. I became a total girl in a matter of hours and spazzed out over some freakish nightmare. I completely dismantled our trust when I ended up with Kadaj _alone_. And I woke him up this morning for a stupid dream.

"Come on," he coaxed. "Oh-oh. Is that a twitch? I see it…There it is. A smile, pearly whites all around…Oh-oh. OH!"

I couldn't help it. I grinned like a loon, and Zack crowed his victory. "And the sun shines through!" He ruffled my hair and tugged me off the bike. I actually did feel better.

Is it any wonder why I love him?

We walked through the halls on the way to homeroom, Zack greeting everyone who happened to tell him hello. Which was most people. I didn't get a nifty greeting once, but I didn't care. I grew up that way, anyhow. Once out of earshot of some people, Zack nudged me in my left arm.

"Did you even eat before you left?" He was looking at me when I glanced back. "I mean, you looked like you were about to fall over this morning."

I shook my head, not wanting to talk because of my lack of tenor. It was embarrassing. I resisted the urge to back away when he frowned. But then his features smoothed out and he draped an arm around my shoulder.

"We'll fix that later at lunch, then."

A few seconds later we turned into our homeroom and Reno looked about to come charging in our direction when he decided to check himself and slowed down. Nothing ever stopped him, so what?

"Hey, there, Cloud," he chuckled, sounding nervous. Why was he…?

Oh. Right.

I sighed and something seemed to click to Zack. "Why _did_ you deck Reno?"

Reno shifted uncomfortably and looked away, cheeks actually coloring a little. If that was him, then I'm sure mine could be used for a solid color swatch.

"Rude's, ah…" he began. "You know…"

"What about Rude?" Zack sounded completely at a loss. I would be, too if some third party was mentioned who was least likely to be the catalyst in the situation.

I decided to take the plunge, just to get it over with.

"I found Rude about to make babies with my mom," I supplied, hoarse. _Yeah,_ my inner voice added. _And all over my cereal, too._

"WHAT?"

The whole class hushed and looked in our direction. Reno looked like his hair and I positively both blanched and burned at the same time. Possibly, I was the color blue. Or purple.

"Mind your own shit, people," Cid's voice rang out in the eerie silence. He had stood and walked toward us, toothpick in his mouth. Everyone knew to fear Cid, really. He got sent to this public school because, apparently, he'd pulled a butcher knife on a female teacher and damn near killed the principal.

What a guy.

The rest of the students hurriedly resumed their conversations and Zack sung me around to look at him, his gaze occasionally flicking to Reno; he expected answers, I guess.

"Rude," he recited slowly. "And your mom?"

I hunched into myself and nodded. I promptly heard a thud and looked down to see Zack unconscious. It sparked memories of the nightmare but I hurriedly pushed it out of my mind before I lost it again. But somehow, amidst the lingering fear, I was highly amused at his reaction.

Cid's toothpick suffered the same demise, however he had doubled over laughing after Reno had repeated what I'd said.

He wiped a tear from his eye. "Wow, Spike. Your folks sure know how to live!" At that precise moment, Vincent showed up with Yuffie right behind him, followed by Tifa and of course, Cissnei. Cid clung to the red eyed teenager, spilling his guts.

Vincent raised an eyebrow and took one look at my inflamed face before smirking. Yuffie was propped against the door, hiccupping as she tried to remain upright. Cissnei giggled behind her hand.

"Why can't you be more like your mom, Spike?" Tifa asked and Cissnei's giggles turned into evil cackles.

Corrupted, I tell you.

**A/N: Well, I thought this was quite lame, except for in the beginning; that was my favorite. The rest, well…**

**Let's just call this a filler with a tiny bit to do with the plot, yeah? Besides, I don't think I'll go over six pages worth of typing until I get to a really good part. **

**Please review! I'd love to know what you think. :D**


	9. Chapter 9

Lunch time was a narrow-minded affair on my part. I couldn't care less about what happened around me because my stomach brainwashed me and I was on the binge. Honestly, I don't know what came over me. I was hungry, that much I knew based on common sense. But snapping at Yuffie whenever she touched me mid-bite, chew, or swallow was beyond strange. But for some odd reason, I couldn't give a shit.

Zack sat beside me, from time to time glancing between me and Reno, who was still a little red in the face from earlier this morning. Cissnei and Cid never let up on it, although they did hold back a bit on the mentioning of my mom's apparent fling with Rude. Yuffie, after deciding that it was best for her health to leave me be, held on to Cid as they both snickered breathlessly at the nearly day old joke. It was beginning to grate on my nerves. From time to time I'd glare at them but it only served to make them all the more weak with laughter.

The laughter died out soon enough when Zack's face darkened into a nasty snarl. I hurriedly, and pretty much _breathed _my juice down and prepared myself for whatever was going to happen. My eyes immediately connected with Kadaj and he winked at me, causing me to flush unaccountably, and I looked away instinctively. Yazoo, I saw from the corner of my eye, cast Kadaj a sideways glance and frowned a little before turning to Zack and brandishing that devilish smirk he seemed to have invented just for his own features. And while Kadaj can shove my mind into different directions at once, Yazoo, I found, was the one who really frightened me.

"I don't think he's happy to see us, Kadaj," he drawled, voice smooth and like spun velvet. It made me shudder, and not in a good way at all. "There's nothing wrong with _him_," he motioned with a flick of his long silver mane to Reno. "So why the hostility?"

Loz just smirked with his patented huff as he folded his arms. They say it's the quiet ones that cause the most trouble. In this case, I'd say bruises. Yazoo was sly, and it's always the pretty ones that get you in the end.

I chanced a glance in Reno's direction and saw him capture Zack's gaze, both making silent connections to each other. The red head flicked his attention to be briefly, and our gazes locked. I broke it as soon as it connected, looking up to Kadaj, completely bewildered. Again, I acutely felt the weight of the phone he bought me that sat in my pocket set on silent. Feeling another set of eyes on me, I latched onto Yazoo's stony stare. It took everything in me not to scramble back and haul ass. If I thought seeing an enraged Zack was frightening, then the smoldering anger in those green eyes was fear in and of itself. They held death, contempt, consternation and damnation, tinted with a light sheen of confusion. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but it's like there's something he can't figure and I'm the cause. But whatever it is, he wants me out of the picture.

"_It's not safe."_

Kadaj's voice replayed in my head and it made me look at him for a short second before immediately locking onto Yazoo, like I was afraid he'd jump me if I didn't watch my back. He regarded me intently, cocking his head to the side a little, a tiny glimmer of something in his eyes.

He looked away and shared a look with Loz who nodded once; decisively and let that slow customary smirk adorn his features.

I think I swallowed a rock.

"Fuck off," Zack growled. It held less bark that it usually does, but no less bite. His body was tense, wound to the point of snapping. It must have been something between him and Reno that got him to hold back.

"But we've only just got here, Zachary," Loz put in.

"Beat it," Reno spoke for the first time. It shocked me how cold his voice was; to the point where I nearly caught a whiplash snapping my attention to him. His joviality was nonexistent as he held Yazoo's eyes. I felt the thick tension roil between them. I looked over at Vincent. There was something in those red pools that seemed to piece things together, something that I seemed to not get at the moment.

"We came to see how our favorite red head was doing," Kadaj hummed with that sickly sweet smile of his. "Is that a crime?"

"I said get the fuck lost, Jenova," Zack barked. It startled me a little and it made me look Zack's way, eyes widening a little.

Kadaj clicked his tongue. "Calm down, Fair," he looked at me, and I felt my heart do something funny at the attention. "You're going to give Cloudy here a heart attack if you keep that up. Isn't that right, Cloud-dear?"

All eyes turned to me and I paled, I'm sure. I felt my entire face grow cold. Wasn't I supposed to stay out of this? I tried communicating that message to Kadaj through my eyes to his. That singular green pool flashed with a silent apology. For what, I don't know. But I was going to find out somehow.

Zack's eyes flickered toward me shortly, and I looked away before our eyes met.

"Leave him out of this, asshole," Reno declared icily.

"Look," Cid spoke around his toothpick while glaring daggers at the trio. "You've got to the count of three before I cleave your asses in half if you don't get lost."

"You're not our type," Loz quipped, upper lip curling slightly. I fought the twitch at the corner of my mouth. I couldn't help it if Cid got owned. It was about time, too.

"Why I ought to-," He reared.

"I don't like you," Yazoo said, seeming to come to a decision. His voice neither held neither venom nor mock. Just a bland statement as if he were just talking about the weather.

"Too fucking bad," Cid retorted. "One…"

"I don't like him either, brother," Loz agreed, eyeing Cid like a piece of meat. I felt something cold settle at the core of my body. God no… I needed a plan.

"Well we sure as hell don't like you!"

Fuck, Yuffie!

Shit, shit, shit. _Shit!_

"Two…" Cid continued.

I looked to Vincent, the only one out of the rest of the crew who was gearing for the fight of the century. We hadn't even made it past the second week of school yet, dammit!

His red eyes met mine and he must have seen something there because he folded his arms and spoke for the first time, startling everyone else into silence.

"Look," he said in that toneless voice I'd suddenly come to love. He looked to Cid. "Calm down. It's worth the effort. Leave it alone."

Cid growled a few choice words and calmed down. Vincent was sort of the voice of reason. If he said something, we knew to listen.

"Vincent-!" Yuffie started.

"Shut up, Yuffie," I snapped. Her mouth was liable to get someone killed. And I mean literally. She turned to me, shocked and hurt at the same time. I'll worry about that later. Right now there was a situation that needed to be diffused.

At the moment, the warning bell sounded.

Saved by the bell wasn't the phrase to really cover it all, but it would have to do.

"Well," Kadaj sighed. "Our time had been cut short. Too bad." He turned heel and began to walk away, the Loz and Yazoo trailing behind him. "Take care, Cloud-dear," he called over his shoulder. Yazoo paused, lingering a little longer to fix me with a stare that made me think twice about living.

I'm definitely sure I swallowed a rock.

"Cloud-dear?" Yuffie burst. I winced and sighed. I could not do this right now. Cid's life was in potential danger, fatally so. And all instincts told me to get to Kadaj first before something happened that would cause the world to tilt on its axis. It's a good thing I had lunch, because dinner had lost it's appeal for the foreseeable future.

I became conscious of the phone in my pocket. Zack had yet to record the number but that can wait.

I looked around the table, and all eyes looked at me expectantly.

"We have class," I stated blandly and left without another word. I felt their piercing gazes at my back. But for now I can ignore it. I know Zack would have the most questions and I'm going to hate myself for keeping something like this away from him.

But, my subconscious reasoned, he kept something from me as well and he had yet to reveal it. So it's only fair.

It's all rationalizing but too bad. I had another mission.

* * *

I left school pretty much right after the bell. I didn't share last period with anyone and I was about to go to the back of the building when I remembered that Zack had parked his bike there. So, around I turned and avoided any type of contact with any of my friends. I needed to get to the Bridge. There was no way I was going to my house. Zack would probably search for me there, first. With a sigh, I scanned the crowd, hopefully to catch Kadaj all by himself, no matter how close to impossible it may be. With a disgruntled huff after nearly ten minutes of searching, I trailed through the sparsely populated halls. To my right, I absently noted that the door to a classroom burst open. What I failed to notice was the hand that grabbed me by the collar and forcefully tugged me in before the door closed shut quietly, locked and the blinds were dropped down.

I whirled around, heart practically in my mouth at the sudden displacement. I was met with a solitary green eye and I relaxed minutely.

"Dude," I breathed, trying to get my heart rate under control. "What the fuck?"

"I'm sorry for scaring you," Kadaj said. All traces of his patronizing demeanor was gone, like the night before. "But I need to talk to you."

"Funny," I said. "Was going to say the same to you."

"Let me go first, if you don't mind."

I nodded and took a seat on top of one of the desks while he settled on the teacher's.

"I need you to keep an eye on your sailor-mouthed friend for a while," he said, sending a wary glance to the door, as if expecting someone.

I was opening my mouth to say something on the matter but he cut me off. "Don't ask any questions. It's for your own good."

I was going to say something else when he silenced me again. It was starting to get annoying. "Just trust me, alright? And remember our deal."

Something in his eyes deterred me from doing just the opposite, and I relented. "Alright."

"And your reason?" he asked after a moment of silence.

"Same thing," I admitted sheepishly, feeling my cheeks warm a bit. What in Gaia's name? Why am I acting like such a girl? I don't like him!

"Well keep him in the company of another for at least a week," Kadaj advised. "It's for the best."

I nodded. "Look," I rubbed my eyes with two fingers. "Zack's going to corner me about this."

"Do what you can to throw him off your tail," he said simply.

"It's not that simple!"

"It is," Kadaj said, voice even. He took a look at his phone. "I have to go. Don't get caught alone and don't let that idiot blond out of your sight or anyone else's."

He rose and walked out of the classroom, warily before turning back and flashing me a smile much like the one at the store that night. I returned the gesture weakly and all but sagged to the floor after the door closed behind him.

He confused me. One minute he's all antagonizing and patronizing and the next he's all nice and friendly. What the hell was going on here?

I pushed those thoughts aside, knowing that I had something to do before I left this campus. I flipped open my phone and dialed Vincent. He was the one I could trust not to pry nor link anything back to me.

He answered on the third ring.

"Listen," I said, cutting to the chase. I knew he recognized my voice. "I need you and the others to help me keep an eye on Cid. I don't like the way Yazoo looked at him. And if I'm right, the same could happen to him that happened to Reno."

"Got it."

The next thing I heard was a dial tone. I was used to it. But damn, he had not one ounce of social etiquette in his body sometimes. Duty done, I turned to look out the window of the classroom. It faced the back of the school just over where Zack left his bike. There was no bike and therefore no Zack. I breathed a sigh of relief even as cold fear gripped my heart. Zack wasn't one who took kindly to having his friends threatened. He also refused to let the matter go unsettled.

I looked at the phone in my hand and debated on…

No. He can take care of himself. I know he wouldn't rush into anything blind but it still didn't stop me from worrying. And with a sigh, I turned and made my exit. The halls were so empty my breath could have echoed off the walls. I looked at one of the clocks above the lockers. It was nearly four in the afternoon. Mom wasn't going to be home for a while so I wouldn't really have to worry about worrying anyone. But then again, Kadaj did warn me about being out alone for too long, however, I can defend myself so no worries despite leading people to believe that I was a pacifist.

If anything, I can call Vincent. He's the only other one besides Kadaj that has my number anyway.

Kadaj…

I shook my head to clear it. Right now I needed to get home. But I'm taking the scenic route. And if I go at my regular pace I should be home at around eight. Not too late and not too early.

Perfect.

I'd gotten to the bridge without incident in under an hour and a half and stopped at it's peak. I carefully kept my phone in my pocket, remembering what happened the last time I had it out in this very spot. People were so inconsiderate these days. I sighed and looked out at the lake. Every year some fool would attempt suicide on this very bridge. Uncle Joshua did, and he succeeded. But I wasn't that close to him. I barely knew the man at all but I had to hand it to him. He was chicken shit enough to bail out on life, but brave enough to end it himself. Paradoxical but believable.

I sighed as the wind played with my hair, trying to figure out what to have for dinner tonight. My nerves were settled for now, not exactly worried over anything but not calm either. I thought back to the note my mom left and groaned at the food part. It looked like I was eating out tonight. With that thought in mind, I backtracked across the bridge and waited for a bus to take me into the city. If I needed a ride, I'd just have to call…

I'll get home someway. I couldn't deal with Zack while I'm trying to keep tabs on Cid. I can't avoid him forever but it's something I can get away with tonight for sure.

The ride into the city was fairly uneventful, save for this bum who kept singing John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt. It was funny at first when people were groaning and startling at his loud outbursts at the end of the chorus. But then it got pretty annoying. If my stop didn't come when it did, I probably would have thrown him through an open window. The streets were crowded but it was fairly easy to get by without being mugged unsuspectingly. I, for one, have had enough yanking around for one day. I stood on a particularly empty curb and meditated on my next course of action: where was I going to eat?

* * *

I got home at around ten, much to my mild surprise. Traffic by bus was more than crap, but it was needed. I tossed my keys into the dish beside the door on the table and waltzed by the phone, playing today's messages. I never really get much other than some solicitors and maybe one or two from people I knew. There was one from Vincent, telling me that Cid was at home, safe and sound. I didn't realize that my body was so tense until the tension finally bled out and my knees buckled. Another message was from Zack, asking me to call him back. I debated on it, and nearly decided against it when I remembered the conversation we had that night just over the bridge. It wouldn't be fair if I snuffed him now.

Stupid morals.

I picked up the cordless receiver and dialed his house, listening to the ringing on the other end as I waltzed up the stairs and into my room to perform my nightly ritual.

"Hello?"

"You rang?" I drawled, raising my right shoulder to hold the phone to my ear as I somewhat awkwardly shed my pants.

"Where were you?" Zack asked. "I'd called your phone forever and it just kept ringing. …You're not mad at me are you?"

"Oh, shit yeah," I cursed, remembering but hastily clarified before he got the wrong idea. "No, not mad at you. I just forgot to tell you that it dropped in the river and I got a new one." I riddled off the number and he saved it.

"So where'd you disappear off to?" he asked casually. "You left kind of early."

Yeah, didn't really think of a cover story there.

"Wanted to keep an eye out for Cid, that's all," I explained. It was partially true. I _was,_ after all, the one to call Vincent and give him the heads up.

Zack hummed, I guess not really knowing what to say to that kind of response. The short bout of silence that normally didn't ensue began to bother me and have the hairs at the back of my neck stand up.

"…Is there something wrong?" I hazarded, ready to flinch even though I knew fairly well that Zack couldn't currently get to me physically.

"No, no. Nothing's wrong," Zack shot back quickly. So quickly that I actually tripped over the waist of my pants and landed on my floor; hard.

"Shit!" I hissed, rubbing the back of my head where it hit the wall. Those things aren't friendly as they look.

"You okay there?"

"Peachy," I ground out. At that moment, my cell phone started ringing. Scrambling to my feet I picked it up off the bed and scanned the outer screen curiously. A small black 'K' flashed across the screen.

"Zack," I said absently. He answered with a distracted hum. "Let me call you back."

I flipped the phone open and before I even had the chance to answer, Kadaj's voice filtered through, quick and terse.

"Get out of there and get to that blond bastard's house ASAP."

Click.

…What the fuck?

Then the enormity of it all just happened to hit me and I bolted, tugging on a pair of jeans as I went. MY shirt was only around my neck while I mentally debated the best course of action. Then I absently remembered the rumble of a cycle outside not a few minutes ago. Curious and overly hopeful, I peered through the front window, immensely relieved that there was, in fact, an electric blue bike sat on the curve of the cul-de-sac, still running with the key in its ignition.

Wasting no time whatsoever, I slammed the front door behind me, rules of stealth all but gone with the wind. I hopped on, irritably throwing the matching helmet in some random direction that wasn't in my way. An indignant squawk caught my ears and I gunned out of there. I shouted some unintelligible apology and promise to bring it back, but I wasn't too sure if the poor guy understood it.

Man, I am so screwed.

I tore down the street and out of the neighborhood, doing everything Zack would have my head for later in life. If I managed to survive the trip to Cid's house. Along the way, I'd narrowly avoided ripping a tabby cat in half, rushed over six speed bumps, killed a few rumbles and cut through the throng of pedestrians crossing the street.

Getting a ticket before I even touched my license wasn't something I was overly fond of and I avoided the cops wherever I could.

The wind tore through my hair and my gums flapped quite freely in the wind, prompting me to lay low to avoid being blown off at the speed I was going. Don't get me wrong, I can ride a cycle. I just don't do it if I don't have to. Zack's a competent driver, even if a bit reckless sometimes. But I'm getting off track.

I stormed into the shadier parts of town; the slums, if you will. Cid was a hard-ass all the way and proved it by surviving night after night in this dump. It disturbed the hell out of me, so I didn't come here too often, despite the fact that I knew my way to his house quite well.

With Zack, in any case.

I pulled up to his house. A well kept place, though not spectacular. I practically threw the bike to the side, belatedly taking the key because I needed a sure ride home if I'm gonna get Cid out of here.

Running up the steps, I fairly beat the living shit out of his front door. Kadaj sounded pretty ticked when he called. And he wouldn't call without a reason.

Cid came to the door and yanked it open, but I hardly recognized that it was him when I'm staring down the barrel of a handgun.

Yup. Definitely swallowed a rock.

I looked at it, hands raised in the classic 'I surrender,' stepping back cautiously.

"You mind putting that away?" I croaked hoarsely. Guns scare the living hell out of me when they're pointing at someone else. It's pointing at me this time. Do math.

"What the fuck is your problem?" He growled. Someone's not in a happy mood.

"You've all been on my ass today for some reason I can't seem to figure out and it's pissing me off!"

"Look," I sighed, glancing around me as he lowered his gun. "I'm just worried about you."

"For what?" He asked, moving aside to let me in. I looked around, searching for anything out of the ordinary. But there was nothing. Kadaj made it sound like someone was out for Cid's life. Well, Yazoo was, but you get the idea. "You've already been at my back for the day. What do you need to come back for?"

It's true. I'd spotted him on my way to 'dinner' and more or less dragged him along for the hell of it. And to soothe my conscience.

"A gut feeling," I half lied. Cid knew better than anyone what it meant to follow a gut feeling, but it didn't make him any less skeptical.

"Right."

I needed to get Kadaj for this. "Hey, man. Point me to the bathroom?"

"Down the hall, first to the right." He stalked off to the kitchen muttering what I'm sure were obscenities under his breath.

"Thanks, man." I followed the spoken path and closed the door behind me, locking it. I sat on top of the closed lid and dug for my phone, hoping to Gaia that it didn't fall out while I did one sixty on the road here. Breathing a light sigh of relief, I looked through the phonebook (there were only three numbers there, really) and selected Kadaj's number.

After the eighth ring I hissed and cursed before hanging up. I realized that it was suspiciously quiet out there, though. If I recall correctly, someone else knocked on the door and Cid went over, hemming and hawing about it. He probably went with his gun, too.

Poor fool at the door.

I rose and exited the bathroom, glaring at the phone in my hand. Soon enough I pushed the thought of throttling Kadaj to the back of my mind.

I stepped into the hall when I heard something heavy tumble to the floor. Opting to remain silent, I eased my way out of the hall to see what was going on. The living room was empty so that left the kitchen. If worse came to worst, I knew I definitely knew I wouldn't like what I saw when I got there.

Some strange sound emanated from the dimly lit room, like gasping.

"Shit," I heard him cough. I hurried my pace and stopped cold once I got to the entry way.

Someone dressed in black was crouched inside the broken kitchen window, making ready to escape. I couldn't tell if it was a man or woman with the mask on. But rich blue eyes turned back to look at me briefly before the burglar vanished into the night. A wet cough brought me back to the present and my gaze snapped to Cid.

I had no idea when I got there, but I was on my knees beside him, hand over his trying to staunch the blood gushing out of his chest. Cid looked up at me, a dribble of blood escaping his lips even as he struggled to breathe.

"Shit," I cursed, mentally reaming my mind's ass for a solution to the problem.

"H-hurts like hell," Cid wheezed.

"Shut up, dip shit," I growled. I was panicking. "Just focus on breathing, alright?"

I used my free hand and dug into my pocket for the phone and dialed the first number that came to mind.

"Pick up, pick up, _pick up!_"

I hate the sound of ringing with a passion.

"Don't waste your time," I heard Cid say. I looked to him and saw his eyes drift shut.

"No! Keep them open, asshole!" I raved, eyes widening. My heart was in my mouth and I had this crazed idea that the pressure of it all rushing through to the hand keeping the wound in check would somehow make it worse. It was like the person tried to cleave him in two with something.

"Stupid bitch," He coughed again, weakly, head lolling to the side. "Can't believe it."

I had no idea what he was rambling on about but at least he was still coherent enough to talk. I was about to try to keep him going when someone finally answered the phone.

"911, what's your emergency?"

Stupid fake voiced receptionist.

"I need an ambulance like yesterday," I grit out. "144th and Cedar. There's a blue bike outside. Hurry up."

"Right away."

"I should have seen it comin'," he murmured.

"Should've seen what?" I prodded gently, trying my level best to keep him conscious. But he wasn't responding.

I took a chance and smacked him across his face. It brought him back momentarily and he blinked. He was disoriented and his eyes were glassy. Not good at all.

"Come on, Cid," I said, trying to get him to focus. "Don't pussy out on me, now."

His other free hand rose slowly, pawing for… something until he caught hold of the hand that was trying to keep him alive. I looked back at his eyes. I knew for a fact that he couldn't see me and I felt my blood run cold. He looked at my general direction.

"Get that bitch," he whispered hoarsely. "Thought it was a friend…Get the bitch, you hear me?"

"Who was it?" I tried, already feeling tears freefall down my face. His grip slackened and fell away. But I caught it with my free hand, my phone clattering to the floor.

"No, no, no, no. Come on, Cid."

He didn't respond at all anymore. I warily put a hand over his nose and mouth.

Nothing.

"Cid, come on, man. Stop shitting around," I pleaded. "Cid! CID!"

"You're going to have to let him go, son," I dimly heard from somewhere in the background. I have no idea if I responded or not. There was only one thing circling around in my broken mind.

Cid was dead.

* * *

**A/N: Did **_**not**_** see that one coming.**

**This story is received pretty well, really. I'm glad, too. I understand I'm only able to keep you all because I'm killing you with your own curiosity. **

**I enjoy every minute of it.**

**But, nonetheless, I'll reveal it all to you in due time. Until then, watch as the story unfolds~!**

**This chapter was going to be much lengthier than this, something to keep you at the edge of your seats until I inevitably killed your spirits with another cliffy but I decided against it. It's seven in the morning and I have school, and finals to attend to. So this is sort of my last update for a couple weeks (sorry).**


	10. Chapter 10

_**Edit: I added some more because it really wasn't complete. I left out a few pieces (read: a few hundred words that would prove useful). I deliberately took down the chapter and reposted it. If you'd already read this chapter (or at least what I'd had up before) just look for where you've stopped and continue from there. If you're feeling skippy, re-read the entire thing to get another feel to it. Maybe even kill a few cells trying to figure out what's going on.**_

* * *

**ZACK**

I answered the phone on the fifth ring, a little irritated that someone decided to interrupt my not so free time. I looked at the screen briefly before answering. I didn't even get to chew the guy's ass out before he told me something that made my blood run cold.

"They got Cid."

I was on my bike in less than five minutes. Out of the two of us, Reno was actually the more level-headed one. Took a lot to really get him angry, really. Whereas I somewhat wear my emotions on my sleeve. And right now, I wasn't sure what my sleeve displayed. I was pissed, of course. Messing with my friends is one sure way to get me fired up. But among other things, I was scared shitless. I knew when it was way too dangerous to stick around, however if I left- if _we_ left- , things would get much worse. Running won't solve anything right now. It only delayed the inevitable, like the past five years had done for me.

"Where are you?"

"Hospital," the red head answered back. "…You might want to break a few laws for this one."

He hung up and I grit my teeth, starting up my bike. I neglected my helmet, long since used to not wearing it. I half thought about using it but left it alone. There was more at stake than my own safety at this point. And if they'd gotten to Cid behind our backs…

My mind immediately went to Cloud. Dammit! If those bastards had taken Cid down, Cloud would be next to nothing to deal with. Add that with Kadaj's antics then I've gotten myself into quite the shit pit there. My conscience was eating at me already, but I managed to acquiesce it by promising to check up on the Chocobo soon as I got there.

And break laws, I did. I'd even run a few lights and risked being flattened by a semi on the way, too. I left my bike near the entrance and fairly ran through the lobby, dialing Reno to get the directions to where he was instead of wasting my time with the receptionist. I chanced a look at the elevator and growled at the fact that even though it saved energy, it wasted time.

Stairs it is.

Thanks to that stupid accident ten years ago, six flights of stairs felt like only three. It may have fucked up the rest of my life but it had its perks.

Entering the hall from the side door, I spotted Reno's wild red hair from a distance and marched up to him. He was squatting before someone, I noticed. His lips were moving in that way I knew was trying to calm someone down. Who the person was, I wasn't sure. They were concealed by one of the double doors that led to the ward. Getting closer, I saw a familiar tuft of blond hair.

Cloud?

I must have made some kind of sound because Reno's head snapped up in my direction. I really didn't like the look in his eye. He turned back to the slumped form and raised a hand to the person's face. I drew closer, pace withering into something much more careful. Almost afraid. And I admit, I was a little torn between hoping it was Cloud or that it was a traumatized Cid with a new Chocobo fetish.

My heart kind of had a tough time deciding where it wanted to be. Didn't know if it wanted to make a home in my mouth, or take a dive to my feet. It _was_ Cloud sitting there like some lifeless doll.

"Hey," Reno whispered to the blond. "Guess who's here, yo?"

"What the hell happened?" It was out of my mouth as soon as it entered my head.

Reno didn't look at me, instead running his fingers through Cloud's hair and ceasing his quiet murmuring to tell me in a flat tone: "Cid's dead. Cloud found him."

Oh.

Shit.

"He got sliced, yo," Reno hissed softly. "Clean across the chest. It was a dirty job."

Meaning it couldn't have been one of his buddies, then. I let out a breath of relief. Whether it was on Reno's account or mine, I didn't know. Maybe it was both.

"And as far as I know," he continued. "Cloud tried to save the guy. Called me when they were on their way here."

"He called you?" I parroted dumbly. What possessed the kid to call Reno instead of me?

Reno caught my puzzled gaze, offering a silent apology. Maybe it was because he knew that in any situation, Cloud would call me first, and then I'd call Reno. That's just the way it worked. The sudden switch just…threw me, I guess.

"Yeah," He looked away, from both me and Cloud. "I thought something had happened to you instead when he did."

I understood completely and offered a pat to the back before switching the subject to something a little more pressing.

"How's Cloud?"

"He isn't responding to anything," Reno huffed, apparently annoyed. "I've been talking to him forever but all he just does is stare at nothing."

I frowned and shooed Reno. The red head stood and folded his arms, looking at me challengingly as if he knew nothing would happen no matter how hard I tried. I took Reno's place and looked up at Cloud. It took all the self control I had not to jerk away. For as long as I've known Cloud, even when he was the shy outcast, his eyes had _never_ been this empty.

"Cloud?" I said quietly, resting a hand on his knee. I waited for a few seconds but all he did was breathe. My frown deepened and my heart began to race a little. The kid was scaring me.

"Hey, Choco," I tried again. "It's me, buddy, Zack. Come on, look at me."

It took a little while of doing just that when he finally blinked, slowly but surely. It took a minute but his eyes sluggishly rolled up to meet mine from under his wild bangs, at which I offered an encouraging smile. But I felt it fall like lead when those blank baby blues welled up and spilled over.

He was finally emerging from shock, at least. But once those tears started, they kept on coming. You know, the first time Cloud ever cried in my presence had shocked me and I didn't know what to do. I was kind of stuck on the idea that the guy's tear ducts only held enough water to keep those pretty eyes of his from going all red and dry. Truth be told, having Cloud angry at you is one thing. Killing a friend is a whole different story. But to have him break down like this…

Death was too easy a punishment.

I pulled the little blond close to me and lay his head on my shoulder and suddenly I as in a vice grip so damned tight that it if it weren't for that freak accident all those years ago, I'm sure I would have had bruises to last for days. And then the dam broke.

I slowly rose and hefted Cloud into my lap while I took his spot on the chair he sat in when I got here. I looked up at Reno who stared at Cloud, confused. I knew the feeling all too well. Back at the first time I witnessed it, I was torn between looking for whoever made the kid cry and getting over the shock that the kid _could_ cry.

It took a while but he calmed down enough where my shirt still had a few dry spots left but he'd more or less fallen asleep right there, too. There was no way tonight's going to be peaceful. I thought back to this morning and cursed.

"Come on, Reno," I said softly, hefting Cloud as I rose, bridal style. "We'll tell the others tomorrow."

He wasted no time in following. That's what he was paid to do, after all. "And how the hell are we going to explain this?"

Now, this was proof that Reno was 'Under The Influence' because normally when something was stated, he'd follow, no question. After being with me all this time, well…

"I have no idea," I admitted. "But we can't have a missing Cid and no story." And having a Witness Cloud wasn't all that well-working, either. We turned a corner and stepped into the elevator. I might be a little bit…enhanced…but no matter how much I loved the Chocobo-head in my arms, there was no way in Ifrit's ass was I hauling Cloud's down those stairs.

I mentally grimaced. I swore that after the last time, I wasn't going to fall again. But we know how my plans go half the time. But I _just couldn't help it_. Even after…

I could have sworn I heard a coughed out _'pedo' _from somewhere behind me. But I didn't acknowledge it.

I think I sighed 'cause I got a nudge in my ankle from Reno who looked at me with a wry smile.

"So, boss man," Reno drawled. He only called me that when trying to lighten an otherwise somber mood, even though I'd told him years ago not to call me that. "What do you plan to do now?"

I thought about it. I have no idea if the attacker saw Cloud or if they knew where the kid lived. But it didn't matter. I was going to be there with him.

"I'm taking the kid home," I said, decided.

"What?" I could hear the frown in his voice. "Wouldn't that be counter productive?"

"Think about it," I said. "What if the killer saw Cloud? Far as you know, he witnessed the whole thing. The first thing they'd do is corner the _next _place he'd go and hide. And unfortunately, it would either be my place, yours, or Yuffie's."

At that moment, one of Reno's phones went off: it was a number only certain people knew. He answered, looking a bit bemused.

"Reno," he answered. After only a few seconds, he held the phone off to look at it strangely before closing it and putting it away.

"Was Rude," he said, turning green eyes to me. "Looks like I'm hiking with you."

"What happened?"

The elevator stopped and we filed out, people looking at me strangely. After a brief moment of reasoning I can understand the cause. It's almost completely normal to carry someone like this _into_ a hospital for whatever case. But to haul someone's unconscious ass _out_ those automatic doors was quite…odd. Nearly made me chuckle, really. But I was too damned pissed to do so.

"They're staking out at my place," Reno replied. "Can't exactly go home right now if they're armed."

"But wh-." I began, but he cut me off.

"An extended taser versus a gun is kind of a no-brainer, there, Porcupine."

"Point." I conceded. "But what happened to your handgun?"

"You left it at the lot while hauling ass to the hospital."

"Right." It was useless to think of a handgun when a friend's life was in danger. Hired help or not. "Looks like plan A and a half."

"Que?" Reno half squawked. I fought the urge to grin. I loved confusing Reno.

"You got any of those fake Ids on you?" I asked.

There was a moment of silence before: "Tourist or Corporate?"

I smiled.

* * *

We got in with the old Reno Charm, as he so likes to call it. Far as I'm concerned, he gave the poor unsuspecting woman an STD and called it that. But I could be wrong. What rankled was the fact that I had to get in through the fire escape; with Cloud.

Despite his scrawny appearance, the kid _does _have weight on him. It's the skinny ones that eat like there's no tomorrow, you know. I've seen him on the binge. I have to wonder where all that stuff _goes_. But really, I digress.

Finally up the fire escape, I handed Cloud over to Reno who wasted no time in depositing the blond onto one of the full beds in the room. After getting him comfortable, Reno looked at me thoughtfully before pulling out his private phone. He dialed a number I came to memorize by his finger's movements.

"Vince," he greeted. "I need a favor, yo."

There was a pause before Reno looked at the phone, mildly shocked. "How'd you-? Never mind. You do that and we'll meet tomorrow before school." He hung up and looked at me as he dialed another number. Rude's I'm to believe. "That takes care of the problem of having to tell the others. Now the question of clean clothes…"

"You threw Vince into the lion's den, didn't you?" I didn't know whether to laugh or soil my own pants.

"I'm not the one who can deal with Yuffie," he defended. "It's either Cloud or Vincent. One's out of commission-" he motioned over to Cloud. "And the other's practically impervious. Yo!" He cut off his end of the conversation in order to speak to Rude.

A maid brought up our things; well, Reno's but we're able to wear the same sizes. I picked up an unopened pack of boxers.

"Those are mine!" Reno wailed.

I shrugged. "More for me."

We both went through our nightly routine, I showered while Reno kept watch and vice versa. We just changed Cloud's clothes and shoved him under the covers. I don't know Reno's reason but I knew mine perfectly.

"Night, Porcupine," I heard Reno yawn hugely before rolling over and promptly becoming dead to the world. It was something he'd leaned to do from young and I always wanted to know how he did that. But then, tossing it out of my mind, I crawled in beside Cloud, knowing fully well that tonight was going to be rough. I couldn't help the warmth that pierced me to the core when Cloud burrowed into my arms almost instantly. Made me smile how damned cute he acted when he wasn't aware.

Falling into a light doze, I kept watch for the night.

The following morning dawned bright and early, finding Cloud still dead to the world and Reno smothering himself with his pillow to deflect the sun. This quiet morning saw me lost in thought, doing squats to help clear my mind. I have absolutely no idea how squatting helps me think, but I'd long since stopped questioning it; it was one of the only things in my screwed up life that remained constant.

It was probably around six thirty and I heavily debated going to school and leaving Cloud behind with Reno. It seemed like a swell idea since I couldn't exactly trust the day to go on smoothly without me there. Neither would I have them hunting me down and throwing Cloud's life in any more danger that it already was; he's just and innocent soul - another I couldn't afford to have killed because of some stupid mistake someone else made.

I heard movement from the bed behind me and I froze for a moment, listening for anymore to signal that Cloud was finally awake. A large part of me prayed fervently that he would stay down for the entire day. But another, smaller and more vicious part of me screamed the horrible reminder that the last time I left someone behind they'd wound up dead. Unbidden, beautiful green eyes pierced my memory and I cringed, guilt eating away at me like a cancer.

A small sound snapped me out of it. It had sounded like a whimper and I looked over my shoulder to see Cloud's once peaceful face contort into an expression of pure agony and fear.

It was the start of another nightmare.

I sighed and turned toward the bed, moving to comfort the kid. A little disgruntled that I was a little too sweaty to cuddle, I threw the thought out of my mind in order to slip beneath the covers and wrap my arms around him.

To be honest, I'm kind of morbidly happy that he was having these bouts of nightmares.

It meant more shameless cuddling.

I presses my lips to his forehead, something I learned a few years ago helped him calm down while rubbing gentle circles in his back. His squirming ceased almost immediately, and he blinked his open at half mast.

"…Zack?" I looked at him, noting that he wasn't exactly awake. My heart warmed to know that he'd thought of me first instead of his mother like the first time back in junior high.

"Shh," I whispered. I still didn't want him at school today. Especially with a…hyperactive…Yuffie. It was bad enough that he had to watch another loved one die. He didn't need to be reminded of it a mere day after.

I watched his eyes roll back a little before closing. It was something interesting about watching him sleep. The first time I saw him do this, I nearly flew into a panic, because, if I'm correct, when someone's eyes roll to the back of their heads, it's generally not a good thing.

I kept rubbing his back until he was settled into a deep slumber. Giving into the urge, I planted a kiss to his forehead and lingered, hovering for a moment. I could have cried, nearly did actually, holding my breath just in time to calm my nerves. My life had been a total wreck for so long, any and everything that made it better - made it worth living - had been ripped away. And now those bastards were already hacking away at my newfound comfort zone.

Heaving another sigh, I rolled over and slid out of the bed. It was nearly seven so I took one of Cloud's shoes and chucked it at Reno.

"Get up, chicken head," I said, unable to hide my amused grin at the vision: Reno, after tasting some shoe, shot awake with a crazed look on his face, eyes staring unfocused _in the opposite direction_ of the attack. How he managed to fit his job description was beyond me sometimes.

Reno cursed, relaxing after a moment and ran his fingers through his ruffled hair, shooting me a withering look.

Fazed me not.

"We have to meet Vincent," I reminded him. "Get in the shower."

Gaia knew that if I went in before him, he'd go right back to sleep. Reno was never a morning person, but after years of acquaintance, I learned fairly well how to deal with it (courtesy of Rude, of course). I watched as he grumbled his way into the bathroom before I went and laid my stuff out. We had business to take care of.

I was sure to keep my phone on vibrate, the black device practically burning a hole into my pocket as I rode my bike, Reno riding bitch. Leaving Reno would more than likely alert those assholes that something was up. So I had to take a gamble - risky, but it had to be done. Cloud was left at the hotel by necessity, and I left a note in his hand telling him to call me soon as he woke. It was nearing eight fifteen - that left us only a half hour to meet Vincent and plan from there.

I parked my bike at the back of the school, dismounted and made myself presentable - that is, not look like Reno. Said red head just removed the helmet from around his neck and slid it onto the handlebar: he wore the thing like a collar instead of on his head like regular people; said he didn't want to mess up his hair.

Stupid.

"I wonder what Red Eyes went and told the others," he mumbled. I admit, I was curious too. Vincent was a man of many surprises, the unpredictable bastard. Then again, in his line of work, he had to be; it was a necessity.

I felt the tension in the air once we hit the main hall. At first, at the silence around the school, I nearly thought that I missed the announcement that there was no school. But it turned out that everyone was just…quiet. The silence was deafening.

Reno and I exchanged looks at the sound of a sniffle. I nudged him into the direction of the staircase leading to the roof. That was our priority; the silence we'd figure out later even though I could take a wild guess.

The normal groan that the door made was a little too loud. Reno passed me and plopped down beside Cissnei who silently comforted an openly sobbing Tifa. I felt my heart clench at what I saw next; Yuffie. Yuffie Kisaragi, the most exuberant human being on earth (besides me, of course), reduced to a mass of tears and clutching at Vincent for dear life.

I met the red eyed gaze, silently asking if he'd told them what I feared: the truth. He shook his head negatively and I felt some of the tension leave me. I glanced over at Cissnei, who nodded once.

She knew.

Acknowledging it, I walked over and gently hauled Yuffie off Vincent's person. She clung to me like a limpet and I comforted her like I did Cloud. The Wutai might have been annoying at best (and coming from me, that says a lot) but she was like a little sister to me. And it rankled to see her like this.

I've never hated one set of people so much in my entire life.

I looked over at Reno and he met my gaze with a deep frown. He had moved to peer over the edge of the roof at the campus. He suddenly dug into his pocket and pulled out his cell; he looked at me once more.

Understanding his unspoken declaration, I held Yuffie with one arm as she calmed, digging into my own pocket.

No call.

He probably hadn't woken as yet. I looked up, shook my head, and he sighed.

"The whole school's in shock," Cissnei said, I assume, to break the oppressive silence. Tifa had collected herself and the red in her eyes had begun to fade. And at that moment, my phone vibrated in my pocket. Without missing a beat, I flipped it open. I'd gotten a new message.

_It was already in the paper this morning, and all over the news. It was reported as a grudge killing. All I could think of on short notice._

My gaze snapped toward the silent man and I raised an eyebrow. He merely shrugged. Seeing him do something so…not him was enough to make the corners of my mouth twitch in amusement. This was the second highlight of the day.

Reno took the cake.

Well, at least no one saw. Ah, besides said chicken head who looked at me quizzically. I mouthed the word 'later' to him and he seemed to accept it.

Yuffie shifted to kneel and wiped her eyes.

"Alright?" I asked. I was more than prepared to take her home, but she nodded, eyes still averted. She never liked crying and absolutely hated doing so in front of others. I gave her another hug as the bell rang for everyone to go to homeroom. I tensed again, Reno, Vincent, Cissnei and I exchanging furtive knowing glances.

Today was going to be rough.

* * *

**A/N: Writing Zack still isn't cake. But I've given you extra to chew on while I work on the next chapter. I'm not sure if I'll be switching over to Cloud to resume the story as usual from a brain-breaking perspective, or continuing with Zack to help shed some light on your poor abused minds.**

**I'm sorely betting on Cloud. =D**

**Honestly, I need to stop dragging you guys by the leash and give you something calm to read. Coming up with this stuff more than ten times is flipping hard. I should know. I've stopped at ten on two of my other fics. One's actually complete on ten, and the other's stalled on ten. But this one, on ten, will make it a little further and **_**then**_** stall until I can find something anti-climactic to throw at you.**


	11. Chapter 11

I felt warm and unusually comfortable. There was something wrapped around me and I instinctively burrowed into it with a feeling of contentment I hadn't felt in a long time. My body was pleasantly numb, but something at the back of my mind kept nagging at me. I was hard pressed to keep my comfort a little while longer and so I nuzzled whatever was keeping me so, unintentionally moaning at how good it felt. Whatever mattress this was, it was sure worth its money.

Warm breath wafted through the hair at the top of my head and I realized, oddly calm, that I was snuggled against someone.

Not exactly coherent, I couldn't figure just who the person was in order to determine whether I was awake or not. I struggled to drag myself into full consciousness, forcing myself to wake a little more. Almost immediately, my mind finally caught up with my body.

I was in bed.

With someone I didn't know.

What the hell happened?

With a start I would have bolted upright, if not for the arms around me tightening enough to not budge to support my sudden movements.

Instead of the panic I'm sure I was supposed to feel, curiosity led me to pry my eyes open. Inhaling, vanilla and cinnamon caressed my senses. Only then could I find the strength to open my eyes.

Wasn't much strength, but it was enough. I couldn't exactly see, but I recognized the familiar shadow.

"…Zack?"

"Shh," I vaguely heard a voice whisper.

The breath across my forehead was warm and comforting, and I faded out to the feeling of someone rubbing circles in my back.

The next time I was somewhat aware, there were fingers raking lightly through my hair. Instinctively I reached up to swat the hand away, but ended up holding onto what felt like the other's wrist. It took a few moments but I finally found a scent that was vaguely familiar to my slow-waking mind. There was a vague scent of raspberries and lilacs. It confused me at first, but my body was slow to react when I mumbled out:

"Zack?"

The sun on my face was annoying and made me see the red inside my eyelids and started to feel like it was planning to burn a hole through my skin.

A snort seemed to be my answer.

"It's like school does nothing for today's youths anymore."

_Not_ Zack.

My eyes snapped open to struggle to focus on a pale cheek some distance away. Something gray and black surrounded it, but after blinking to the point where I thought my sockets would swallow my eyes, I finally figured out who it was.

What the hell?

"Kadaj?"

The figure turned around and sure as I lay there, that was Kadaj standing just outside the frame of the window. Speaking of which…

"Where am I?" I asked, taking my palm and using it to rub my nose in a few circles. I found that it makes my face tighten up a little after becoming so damned slack after being asleep (I look like crap after sleeping, believe me). I sat up, the blankets on me falling about my waist.

"At the Midgar Hotel."

"What?" I shrieked just after the word 'hotel' left his lips. I immediately looked down.

"No, you didn't do anything stupid," Kadaj sighed. "Wait, you did."

"What?" I asked out of sheer confusion. I admit it. I'm extremely ugly _and_ slow when I wake up.

Kadaj sighed and backtracked from the window, glancing back at it once as if looking out for something. But soon enough he made it close enough to sit on the bed beside me, one foot on the ground.

"You were too slow," he drawled in that patronizing tone of voice that started to irritate me. And I would have snapped at him for it if I wasn't so clueless at the moment.

"Your loud mouthed smoker friend," Kadaj stated after a few moments of blank staring on my part. I blinked and thought.

Cid.

My mouth opened at first to ask when it all hit me at once. It was a good thing that I was already in bed, or I would have slumped where I would have been standing.

"Cloud!" Kadaj's voice cut through the cotton ball of thoughts that seemed to swarm into my head and clamor for attention that I couldn't give. "Look at me."

I looked at him and realized that he was inches away from my face. I felt something move underneath my eyes, and noted that he was wiping away a tear that was immediately replaced.

"Look," he said, brows furrowing. He seemed to bite his cheek for a moment, reaching for words. "There's nothing that can be done, now, okay? Just keep that loud Wutainese in check. So please, stop crying."

I looked into the one visible green eye for a few moments, trying to read him. He looked to be completely helpless in this situation; like he wasn't used to people crying around him.

"B-," I started.

"Shh," he placed a thumb to my lips and I found myself unaccountably blushing at it. I manfully fought with it and finally my face cooled down. I hoped to Gaia that he didn't see it. But either way he wasn't paying any attention to me, but cocked his head to the side as if listening for something; his hands curled around my face just slightly and his thumb pressed just a tiny bit harder when his entire body tensed.

After a moment of complete silence, he relaxed a bit and let out a breath I don't think he knew he was holding.

"Did you bring me here?" I asked him. I was still fully clothed fro that night; only my shoes were missing.

He shook his head negatively. "I believe Fair brought you here."

Zack? So I was right the first time, then.

"How'd you find me?" I voiced out loud. I knew for a fact that Zack wouldn't go out of his way to tell Kadaj, of all people, where I was. Kadaj didn't answer, but instead, reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. He gave it a cursory glance and I think I saw the corner of his mouth snap downward before realigning itself. If I'm one hundred percent sane right now, I'd say that Kadaj had just frowned.

"He left this for you."

I took it from his gloved hand and opened the note. I recognized Zack's handwriting from a mile away. All neat and curved.

_Call me._

But, I'm quite sure Zack hated Kadaj's guts like he hated soy sauce.

"I think you should call him," Kadaj hummed. His voice was a bit subdued and I looked at him oddly. His change in behavior was strange, and I watched him flick his gaze toward the window again, muscle in his jaw tensing and relaxing.

I decided to call him on it later, though, and opted to call Zack first.

I started to dial his number when I realized that he didn't know this number. Cancelling the call, I stopped to think through the lingering fog of grief and guilt. I don't know why I was so calm. I'm sure I already went through shock; I ended up at a hotel with absolutely no recollection of the trip. Some almost logical part of me told me that it was because of Kadaj, but somehow I doubted it.

Bringing my thoughts back to the situation at hand, I finally remembered that Reno should have this number in his history. Sure, Vincent knew about the number but Reno was closest to Zack, whatever class he was in. And Reno it was.

"Reno," came the customary greeting. He sounded distracted. So there was no way he could be in class.

"Reno," I started. But I could only get that much out of my mouth before he somehow went from 'meh' to '!'

"Cloud!" he cried. "You're awake. How you feelin' yo?"

I cast a glance at Kadaj, who had found his way back to the window.

"I don't know," I said, my mouth running away from me as I found myself trying to figure Kadaj out. My mind was warring with itself. I need to talk to Zack, and yet I'm here thinking about Kadaj.

"Where's Zack?" I asked, finally getting myself together.

"Don't you have his number?" Reno asked. I could hear the incredulity in his voice. I heard a grunt from somewhere behind him and it sounded like a scuffle.

"Well tell him I'm awake, then," I groused, not wanting to know what was happening in the background, and really not wanting Zack to know about this number. Thinking about it, I should have just phoned Vincent instead.

I heard Reno yelp and a thud before Zack's voice came over the phone.

"Cloud!"

I closed my eyes and paused, mouth drawn into a thin line. One day I'm going to get sick of my name. I'll change it to Bob or something.

"I take it you saw the note, then," he said, sounding relieved.

"Yeah," I answered, mindlessly shuffling my feet. I felt something lightweight hit me on the side of my face and I reflexively squawked in indignation. I was on the _phone_! I looked over to see Kadaj glaring at me and putting a finger to his lips. I glared right back at him and pointed to the phone. He just told me to call Zack, what the hell?

"Cloud?" Zack's voice carried over the receiver.

"Sorry," I covered, quickly. "I tripped over the sheet."

I shot another look at Kadaj who merely raised a finely shaped eyebrow. The good-looking asshole.

Good-looking?

"So," Zack's voice brought me back to reality. "Listen, I'm going to bring you something on the way from school, alright? It's way past lunch and I know you haven't eaten yet."

I knew that tone of voice. I couldn't argue with him. "Alright," I placated him. I could almost hear the grin over the phone.

"I'll be back in a few hours. Be good, Spiky." And with that he hung up. I looked at the phone with a raised eyebrow and shrugged, hanging up and shoving the phone back into my pocket. Which reminded me. I needed to shower.

"Hey, I'm gonna take a shower," I announced, not sure why I even bothered. When I looked around, the window was open and Kadaj was gone.

I made a mad dash for the window and looked down, noting with a sickening drop of my stomach, that I was three stories up. There was a forest of people milling along the sidewalk, and there was no sign of Kadaj anywhere. I looked in both directions and even chanced leaning over a little more to look at the emergency stairwell. No sign of the guy.

What the hell?

* * *

**A/N: LO AND BEHOLD….the BLOCK! [hoists rubix cube high in the air (incomplete)].**

**Yeah… the site won't allow us to use those greater than and less than signs to make our faces (the meanies). -.-" I'm terribly sorry for the UBER LONG wait and the suckiness of this chapter. I just had that enormous block and had to get this out of my system. Give your love to Yura-chan, because she saved you all from running into a HIATUS note XD. **

**Next chapter…I have no idea what I'll write. But at least my muse came back. ^^**


	12. Chapter 12

Yazoo's gaze flickered to the source of the minor disturbance and he frowned at Loz.; the muscular brother's jaw was dropped to an obscene level around a particularly large yawn. The short haired teen blinked wearily and glanced at Yazoo, grinning lopsidedly at him, chuckling when the other's glare hardened.

At five in the early evening, all was relatively quiet - still and unmoving. Yazoo stood looking down through the window of the room he shared with his younger brother, the other lounging lazily in the chair near the door. The silence keened on, stifling and unwavering save for the occasional passing car or boisterous civilian. With a hawk's eye, Yazoo looked almost absently up and down the street, hoping to latch on to a familiar tuft of white hair.

He hated waiting.

Hard green eyes only left the window to lock onto his phone lying there in the windowsill. Nothing.

Yazoo's jaw clenched.

For weeks, things had been slipping. Little by little their formation and planning had fallen apart. Everything was going smoothly. They had a bargaining chip to boot. Zack Fair was little to no match for them if they had stuck to the plan. In his not so humble opinion, Shin Ra was partly to blame. Rufus liked to play with his food a tad too much, jerking the porcupine look-alike around like some rag doll for longer than necessary.

Admittedly, Yazoo thought it amusing for a time. Then it got a bit boring; he wanted the entire thing over and done with. They needed only Zack. What was wrong with just snatching him the old fashioned way and having their way?

"There's no finesse in that approach," Rufus had said.

Bullshit.

Yazoo was smarter than he looked or even let on. He knew there was something Rufus was waiting on. Something in Soldier was supposed to break down, something important and maybe even vital to the faction. That had to be the case; there was almost absolutely nothing to accomplish by murdering Zack's friends. That was done for the sake of being rude and crass; it was unnecessary and slack despite it being a little entertaining. Of course the killings didn't bother him - not one bit. But not knowing the minor details in the grand scheme of things was a bit frustrating.

Tonight was to be something of a meeting with all of Shin Ra's 'field agents' at Rufus' mansion. Maybe tonight some light would be shed. Even if just a glimmer. And Kadaj was already late. Yazoo focused on his reflection in the window and frowned a bit distastefully at what he saw. Red was absolutely not his color - especially for an entire coat suit. He had wanted to make a stop before they left to pick up something black but hadn't had the time. Personally he favored wearing white at formal functions but that was something of disrespect toward his boss. Rufus favored white above all else and Yazoo wasn't much of a favorite - neither of them were.

The white haired young man picked irritably at his suit and stifled a sigh. Where the hell was his older brother?

Loz shifted behind him, the sound of a phone snapping to a close causing Yazoo to look at him.

"It's late," the other said lamely. Yazoo glared harder, almost giving in to the urge to march over to Loz and smack him upside the head. The sound of the front door stopped him. Kadaj's keys hit the coffee table and his quiet footfalls came closer to the occupied bedroom.

"Sorry I'm late," he said, his voice nothing like the patronizing lilt he used on others. He looked at Loz and then at Yazoo before frowning. "You look terrible."

Yazoo mouthed an obscenity that sat at the tip of his tongue for all of three hours and was about to tear into his older brother when Kadaj just disappeared from the doorway. Through the thin walls the sound of a closet opening traveled effortlessly.

Kadaj appeared moments later with a suit bag, shoving it into Yazoo's hands, face scrunched into a disapproving frown. "That red is horrible against your skin; you look dead."

Loz chuckled from his place at the door, he himself dressed in a dark colored suit. It wasn't quite black but it was close enough to satisfy him. He did, however, go without a tie. Out of the three brothers, he acted on his dislike of ties and went without them altogether. Kadaj didn't like them either, and wore it loosened at the neck just a bit until he got to where he was going and suffered wearing it tightened at the meetings or soirees he attended. Yazoo couldn't care less.

Yazoo cursed silently at Kadaj. He was kind for a cold blooded killer, and it was difficult to stay mad at him for being himself.

However…

Yazoo glowered as he went through the motions of changing his suit.

He couldn't lie to himself. Somehow, someway, Kadaj was endangering this assignment. How, he couldn't put his finger on it. But it probably had to do with that Cloud boy. It confused him. On one hand, having Cloud around would prove beneficial, but something seemed amiss. There was no obvious change in Kadaj's demeanor, though. His other side missions were flawless. It would have been better if he had been the one to kill that blond hazard, come to think of it. That other girl - the new Shin Ra field agent - she was sloppy. Someone knew about the murder and leaked it. There was almost a chance that the blond smoker could have survived if he had gotten to the hospital three minutes earlier than he did. Yazoo idly wondered if it was the girl who carried him. As it stands, he firmly believed that it should have been either him or one of his brothers chosen to do the deed. But he saw the reason for it and laid off.

Yazoo sighed almost contentedly, finally in a suit that felt comfortable. It was good that he and Kadaj were relatively the same size; he should have thought to raid his brother's closet in the first place. Looking into the mirror across the room, the long haired Jenova sneered and yanked off his tie. He could go without. Rufus won't pay attention to them much, anyhow.

"Welcome to the club," Loz said, clapping twice and giving Yazoo a thumb's up when the older boy looked back at him. Yazoo rolled his eyes and proceeded to tie his hair back into a low pony tail.

"…alright," Kadaj's voice wafted into the room. He was on his phone, absently buttoning his left cuff. Tonight, it seemed that Kadaj opted to forego a blazer altogether, settling for a black dress shirt. The black tie hung around his neck untied. Loz, from his seat, reached up and yanked it off, tossing it onto the bed. The action did noting to disturb Kadaj. He glanced up and motioned the other two to follow him. He closed his phone and adjusted his collar, turning around in the process.

"Jessie's out front," he called back.

Yazoo paused, staring after this brother. Until recently, the eldest triplet had never been such a puzzle.

Loz stopped at the look on the long haired brother's face. "Is something the matter, brother?"

Yazoo closed his eyes and composed himself before following Kadaj. "Nothing, Loz. Let's go."

* * *

The ride was relatively quiet, if not a bit uncomfortable. Yazoo glared daggers at the back of the driver's head. He never liked Jessie from the start, the make-believe ninja. She was too air headed and too eager. She barely thought about her actions. Truth be told, she was decent at what she did. However it wasn't enough to be decent this go round. And it was situations like the one she botched that sometimes shook his faith in Rufus. The man was brilliant - he ran one of the most multi-functional corporations in the world. Shin Ra dabbled in everything from power services to shipping to generic bargain brand items. Even a few non profit organizations were set up in the name of Shin Ra. It was almost the perfect cover for a faction that hired the most talented and brightest scientists in the world for the formulation and testing of enhanced humans from mutated genes. However the man did things that Yazoo couldn't connect to the professed big picture.

Like hire this girl for what was to be a clean job.

"It's not polite to stare."

Yazoo scowled even harder, meeting the blue gaze in the rearview mirror. He was never polite to begin with! Who the hell-!

Yazoo stopped his train of thought and it was clear on his face before he caught himself and fought the urge to laugh. He settled for a mocking smile. He couldn't believe he let her of all people get him all riled up. Whatever she did was either her gain or her loss. What he needed, was a drink.

The girl's challenging stare shifted to one of confusion.

"Just drive, miss," Kadaj scoffed, glancing at his brother and then at the blue eyes in the mirror. "Rufus only tolerates fashionable tardiness. And that's only ten seconds after the announced time." He made a show of looking at his watch and turning to look out the window to his right - he even stole another glance at her in the mirror. "Tic, tic, Jessie."

Jessie seemed to make sure he caught the glare she shot his way. She would have retorted had not Loz stepped in.

"Don't even try," he chuckled. "You'll only get away with third degree burns."

The rest of the ride was silent.

It wasn't much longer that they had gotten across the city, taking the back roads and short cuts that Jessie seemed to know like the back of her hand.

At least she was good for something, Yazoo thought snidely. All things aside, he was in a bad mood and was extremely grateful for Loz's occasional bouts of intelligence when he handed Yazoo a glass of champagne. After the first two glasses, he felt slightly guilty for insulting his younger brother. He was smarter than most gave him credit for because of his muscular physique. The brawny triplet just did things to belie his true intelligence.

It worked a little too well sometimes.

All three of the brothers stood near the window of the boss' private study; Rufus seemed fond of having meetings in this particular room. There was one in his mansion reserved just for these kinds of gatherings but he only used it when it struck his fancy, apparently. Around the room were various people, and a handful of Turks. One of them drew Yazoo's suspicion like moths to flames. This particular Turk looked more like some CIA agent straight from the films they often showed on the television and in theatres; clean shaven head with trimmed facial hair and dark glasses and gloves to boot. Rather handsome, too. if Yazoo detached himself from his insistent suspicion enough to truly appreciate.

Jessie had chosen to keep her distance, which was the only wise self-made decision he thought she made since the day she was born.

The door opened, drawing everyone's attention. In strode, dressed completely in white, was none other than Rufus Shin Ra followed by who they all like to call his 'shadow.'

Rufus was good-looking, to say the least. He was what Yazoo knew a lot of girls went for when they couldn't make it to tall, dark and handsome - tall, blue eyed and blond. The boss wore all white from head to toe, making him appear much paler than he really was. The man carried himself with confidence, like he was comfortable in his own skin and not one person could tell him he shouldn't be. In short, Rufus had it all.

Except a wife or a lover that any of them knew about but digression was a distraction.

Rufus moved to sit behind his desk, making quite the show of getting himself comfortable before one of the waiters presented him with a glass of the oldest wine Yazoo had ever seen. The long haired triplet snorted inwardly and tossed a sardonic glance at both of his brothers. Loz gave a lopsided grin as usual and Kadaj gave a little roll of the eyes.

Rufus motioned to the man standing behind him toward his desk. The boss' shadow came around and swung a leg over the edge of the desk, taking a seat atop the maple surface, looking more like a boss than a bodyguard. Yazoo had asked around about the man but only came across the name Strife or something to that effect. But so used to calling him Shadow, most people tend to dismiss that tidbit of information. This man preferred gray to any other color, apparently. Smoky blue eyes under dark hair made him the stark opposite of his boss: tall, dark and handsome. Except, the handsome only extended to the left side of his face. The right side was mottled and raised in many small places with what looked like bad burns. At first, it bothered the brothers but after a while they'd gotten used to it. The story behind that must have been really interesting.

Rufus drew Yazoo's attention once more when the wine glass hit the table as quietly as possible. But with the kind of hearing he had, it was hard to miss.

"Good evening," Rufus began, fingers brought to a steeple and leaning forward onto his desk. His aloof cheer was overshadowed with an austere expression. It was right then that everyone knew it was time to get down to business. Rufus was about to land a hard blow. He flashed a look at Jessica, nothing more than cursory before focusing his steely blue gaze to the back of his guard's head.

"Brief me," he demanded.

So much for his prided finesse.

Rufus' shadow must have felt the heavy look and began to speak. "Cid Highwind, close friend of Zack Fair, was executed two days ago by Jessica, new recruit for Shin Ra." He paused, looking at her before letting his gaze wander around the room at the many faces present. Yazoo thought he would be an excellent speaker if he tried. He kind of liked briefing sometimes because of it. He spoke without rush nor delay and words were placed carefully and made easy to understand.

"According to the news, it was recorded as a grudge killing." he continued. "And it wasn't far from the truth. No fingerprints were left behind, however, after recon, a faded trail of blood led to the kitchen window; it was labeled as her avenue of escape. This, although successful, was a dirty job."

There was silence for a few moments as the small bit of information was absorbed and all eyes in the room latched onto the 'assassin.' Yazoo caught her eye and raised an elegant brow, knowing full well that the job was dirty. The man made it to the hospital just a tad too late.

Rufus closed his eyes and touched his hand made steeple to his forehead.

"Opinions? Anyone."

Yazoo looked at Loz who returned the look dubiously. All three brothers preferred it to keep Loz's value a secret should it need to be used in some way. It wasn't good to lay all one's cards on the table at any point in the game when at any given time, a trump is needed. So both looked at Kadaj, who did most of the speaking as the eldest. The eldest merely rolled his eyes and took up his duty.

"From what we've heard, the job was absolutely filthy," he said, patronizing lilt back in his voice, although downplayed just a bit out of respect for the boss. "If he had made it to the hospital any earlier than he had, he would have had a slim chance of surviving. There's a rule to all assassinations, boss - to any job, legal or otherwise. All must be completed before leaving the workplace. In other words: he should have been dead before she left.

"While," he continued, leaning back to his former position, lazy and mocking as he looked Jessica in the eye. "it would have been slightly beneficial and entertaining to have Fair find the boy just before his death, this would encourage slack and sloppy work from new recruits if the first job is accomplished in such a manner."

Rufus drew his lips into a thin line. The few moments of silence that passed by were tense. It was always hard to predict the man, seeing that he sometimes gave second chances and in other instances, got rid of workers on the spot - i.e. having them killed in the basement and burnt in the incinerator - depending on his mood.

"Redeem yourself," he said, finally. He'd given her all of fifteen seconds and dismissed her say in the matter before she got a chance to speak. "Al."

The room tensed as they all waited for the man's shadow to draw his gun. But he didn't. Instead he leveled Yazoo with a hard stare. "Give the girl an out."

Al was the only one able to give orders in Rufus' stead. Something that was hard to attain and took the boss' extreme favor to allow such.

Yazoo grimaced, shoving his free hand into his pocket and biting the inside of his cheek. He didn't want to give the girl an out. She wasn't ready for this faction or the mission at hand. She should be all means be replaced with a Turk who knew how to follow orders. Like the bald one in the corner, or the blond, blue eyed woman next to him. Hell, give the job to one of the brothers if that was the case. But giving this girl a second chance was against his instincts as an agent of Shin Ra. But this was an order, and orders must be obeyed.

"There's someone who's apparently taken the place of that Aeris girl," he began, thoughts in motion. "A new love interest of sorts. However, it doesn't seem to be answered. The boy-."

Rufus opened an eye at the mention of the gender. "Boy?"

"Yes," Yazoo affirmed. "He, as far as we gathered at the school, had gotten quite attached to him. Jessica knows who I'm talking about. Don't you dear?"

Rufus looked at Jessica. "Do you?"

"Yes," she answered meekly. The look in her eyes had shifted from fear to trepidation. It seemed to Yazoo that she didn't like the direction this briefing was headed. A surprise indeed.

"I would think," he continued. "that it would be quite beneficial to lure him out once more like the last time. Half of the job has already been done, what with Strife knowing her for a little while. So seizing the boy would be little to no problem at all.

"You, at least, should be able to accomplish this simple task."

* * *

Kadaj swallowed the lump in his throat at the mention of Cloud. He knew exactly who Yazoo was speaking of. Neither of his brothers knew of him and his apparent 'closeness' to Cloud and he had gotten fond of the little blond. He was quite taken with him. And he'd tried early on in the game to get the boy away from any danger. Yes, Cloud was the perfect bargaining chip, and in his operative mindset, it was the most logical thing to do: exploit Fair's weakness.

But the side that he showed to none other than his brothers and somewhat Cloud, knew that it shouldn't be done. He cursed himself many days for letting his emotions get the better of him. Furthermore, Yazoo would have his dick on a platter force fed to him if he found out.

"Sounds like a plan," Rufus said after mulling it over before locking eyes with Jessica. "You have two weeks to get the job done. Boys, you keep an eye on the target and little Jessie here."

"Yes sir," the triplets responded in unison.

"As for SOLDIER," Rufus shifted to lounge in his leather chair. "They've been more or less quiet save for Fair and his Turk's interference a few weeks ago." The blond man shot Yazoo a look. "You, I think, and your brothers had gone out to confront them."

"Yes sir," Kadaj answered quickly. "However, we didn't want Fair running for the hills just yet. We still have no clue as to where he and his brother had set up camp in this city. They've hidden it well and this method of luring him out would be ideal-."

"We'll have the lady look into it," Al cut in, much to Kadaj's ire, motioning to the blond Turk in the corner.

"You had injured his Turk," Rufus hummed. "I commend you for being able to engage one and still breathe. Tell me, though. What is Zack like now?"

"His strength is nothing like Angeal, nor Genesis, much less befitting the level of a standard First Class," Kadaj answered, forcing down his irritation. "After his 'accident,' he seemed only to be kept alive via surgery and a few injections. It seemed that only his senses were heightened. There is almost no strength in his body other than what he had built himself."

"Good, then," Rufus nodded. He looked to Al. "Inform my uncle of this immediately."

Without a word, the giant man strode across the room and left, not once looking back. Kadaj saw the furtive glance the blond Turk shot the man. It had been going on for some time. He wondered if something happened between the two that only she remembered. A one-night stand? But the man looked like he didn't even have one sexual bone in his body.

"He should still be of optimal use," Kadaj heard his boss mumble. Aloud, Rufus sighed and sat up, taking his wineglass in hand. "Beginning tomorrow, Jessica you must work on this person of interest. Boys, keep an eye on her and do what you've been doing. Don't mess it up." He took a sip of his wine before looking at the pair of Turks in the corner, particularly the woman.

"You're to find their base of operations and report back to me as soon as possible. As for you," he turned his attention to the shaven man. "I need you to run a few 'errands' for me."

From then on, Rufus assigned others to various jobs and began to mingle with his employees. It threw people for a loop sometimes the way he acted. He carried business the way it should and afterward, became Host of the Year.

However, Kadaj paid no mind to that tiny fact, instead, his mind ran a mile a minute. He couldn't blow his cover to his brothers. He knew Yazoo's standings when it came to work. There was almost no way he'd get his younger brother's backing. Loz tended to go with Yazoo, just to be lazy, if not bow out of the situation altogether. But he had two weeks; that should be enough time to figure out a solution. Jessica would be cake. Yazoo however…

He immediately snagged a glass of champagne from the passing tray and took a sip.

* * *

**A/N: Happy New Year! Wish you many more and all that jazz. And for love's SAKE please REVIEW. I get an average of four per chapter. I have eleven with reviews so far and I have forty four reviews.**

**SO!**

**I come to you with a new chapter! Always wanted to do one like this. I honestly believe my third person angst and jazz are better than my Cloud firsts and just a build up off my Zack firsts. The way things are going, I may just continue the rest in this fashion. Just a thought. If it doesn't pan out then only Cloud's will be in first person. But I'll try it either way. If third person ends up coming out best, then I'll convert all the earlier chapters save for Zack's 'cause it was already good to begin with. XD**


	13. Chapter 13

What you will read next is something heinously short(forgive the entire tonal change to my writing...I've been watching old movies again).

This will only be here for the next week or so. Within that time, I am rewriting this entire story. The changes made will be quite noticeable. Making the decision to revamp Against A Brick Wall, I've decided not to create a new story for this. Instead, I will replace the chapters one by one from the first chapter onward to this chapter thirteen. Pay no attention to this story until the fourteenth chapter when almost all will be new to you. The original path of the story will not change, as the events seen and committed to memory will forever be in the same order. Please note, however, the events in between are crucial to the storyline in its entirety. There have been an insurmountable number of plot holes that are plaguing me to this day. Fixing them further into the story made no sense to me because of the heavy confusion it would cause you as readers. The affairs with Zack will, on the other hand, remain the mystery which will be solved. This fanfiction is estimated (if rewritten and continued correctly) to have nearly thirty or so chapters, the net number being something around twenty-five. You would be pleased to know that following this story, I have a sequel that had been planned before the first version of the third chapter. How long that one would be, I am not sure.

Above all, I humbly apologize for the long wait and the false hope given to you by, assumed to be, a thirteenth chapter. This is just to let you know, quite late into the game, that I have not forgotten about you. Please, bear with me. College and life issues had nailed a fork into the road and veered me off the right track. Fear not, because I will be back and better than ever with something that should make up for the lack of writing that I'd been doing. Also I would like to ask of you, a favor. Please, leave a comment letting me know if you are still following the story. No matter how low the number, I am already acting on the promise of coming back, but it would be nice to know that I still have some of my readers.

Thank you for sticking with me. And to my lovely reader-chan (she knows of whom I speak) I do miss your reviews. If you would please PM me, I'd love to know if you fare well. I hadn't heard from you in a very long time. Otherwise, my lovely readers, please do enjoy yourselves until I can replace all of the misshapen chapters and fix the wrongs and mistakes that I'd made. Again, I thank you for your support.

-Chain Mell (whom you've known for the past twelve chapters as Kendecia)


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